According to the latest sources, former Birmingham City centre-forward Che Adams is close to signing with Serie A club Torino after being released by Southampton.
Adams was in the final year of his contract at St. Mary’s Stadium last summer, and as a result, he drew interest from a number of Premier League clubs, notably bottom-half sides Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers, who were eager to strengthen their forward lines.
While attempts were made to recruit the attacker last year and during the January transfer window, Adams stayed with the Saints and helped guide the club back to the top tier of English football at the first try, creating an excellent partnership with Adam Armstrong up front. The Scotland international scored 18 goals and assisted six times for Southampton last season, but he left the club as a free agent in early July.
Despite his unclear future with the Saints, head coach Russell Martin indicated last week that Adams was unlikely to sign a new contract with the club. Furthermore, on Sunday morning, Italian journalist Giacomo Morandin revealed that the striker was close to joining Torino in Italy’s first flight, but that there are “still some missing details” to seal the transfer.
Nonetheless, transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has now confirmed Morandin’s assertion, stating that Il Toro and the Scotsman are in the last stages of negotiations and that Adams is persuaded of the club’s plans.
The 28-year-old joined Birmingham City from Sheffield United in 2014 for a fee of under £1.5 million. The Leicester-born attacker made 123 appearances for the West Midlands team, scoring 51 goals before being sold to Southampton for £15 million in 2019.
Adams’ stint with the club on the south coast has been up and down, but he has now decided to relocate to a new country with a whole different culture rather than try his hand at Premier League football again with the Saints, which is admirable.
Many fans believed Adams would go on to play for some of Scotland’s greatest clubs after emerging as a rising talent in his early twenties with Birmingham City. Unfortunately, his career never reached these heights, and his progress appeared to have plateaued at Southampton despite his good performances last season. Nonetheless, this move could be a great step for the player, allowing him to fight against some of the world’s best teams, including AC Milan, Juventus, and Inter Milan.
