Leeds United captain Tyler Adams is on the radar of Newcastle United as the club looks to make the most of the summer budget ahead of next season which will see Eddie Howe and his squad having to fight on four fronts.
With Newcastle in the Champions League, the need to add depth to the squad whilst also wrestling with a budget restricted by financial fair play will see the club's transfer team look at players not necessarily playing for a top team. As reported in the Telegraph, Adams fits that bill and would come in for a significantly lesser fee than RB Leipzig Dominik Szoboszlai.
Leeds United, following relegation to the Championship, are in turmoil with owner Andrea Radrizzani facing backlash from fans after offering up Elland Road against a loan to help him purchase Italian club Sampdoria. A proposed takeover of Leeds from American group the 49ers is believed to be close but there is an expectation that several of the West Yorkshire side's star players will leave this summer.
Whilst the more attacking players such as Jack Harrison and Willy Gnonoto have grabbed the headlines with rumored exits - Tyler Adams's exploits have gone slightly under the radar. Indeed many close to Leeds believe the American international's injury was a major turning point in the club's fight for survival.
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The 24-year-old picked up an injury in March and didn't feature again for the club. Javi Gracia who replaced Jesse Marsch but was later fired after just 12 games, described losing Adams as a 'big blow' and praised his defensive abilities in the middle of the park.
Tyler, whose last game came on March 11 against Wolves, still finished 4th from players across the entire Premier League when it came to tackles made last season - with 89. He listed second in the list when it came to successful challenges on opposition players dribbling with 50, behind only Fulham's Joao Palhinha who played 11 times more than Adams.
It's no secret that Newcastle are targeting a central midfielder who can add some balance to the side and offer more protection to the defence. His talents as a defensive midfielder are particularly attractive to Newcastle, as bringing someone to fill that position would free up Bruno Guimaraes to play a more attacking role whilst also providing some much-needed competition for Sean Longstaff.
The end of the season saw the Magpies' midfielder hit by injuries and simply reaffirmed the transfer priority for Dan Ashworth, Steve Nickson, and Howe.
Speaking about Adams' impact at Leeds, Beren Cross who covers the club said: "He's been amazing - really, really good.
"His hamstring injury will go down as one of the killer moments because he just gets through so much work and in this day and age where it's all about the attacking players and flair, we know that thanks to the likes of [Claude] Makelele and [N'Golo] Kante that a defensive midfielder has become such an important position to every successful football team.
"So Adams is absolutely a candidate who is going to get gobbled up by a top six or eight team because there isn't a massive pool of players in that position who have been tested in the Premier League. Teams will have seen him do that role very, very well in a team that's under fire. He could do a top at that level."
Some may look at interest in players who have been newly relegated to the Championship with a distrain but the success of Nick Pope - who moved from Burnley last summer following their relegation - shows that not only can a talented player be found but also a bargain.
