Quick check in on this take to see how it’s aged. Just a quick perusal of some headlines this week. Let’s see… https://www.footballfancast.com/leeds-united-news/leeds-united-transfer-news-tyler-adams-jesse-marsch-victor-orta-premier-league However, not only has the USA international been a regular fixture in the Whites side, but he has also been one of the club’s most impressive performers – so much so that Manchester United are reported to be interested in a January move for the midfielder. And, it is not difficult to see why Adams is attracting admiring glances, as the £32m-rated talent has made an average of 4.0 tackles – the second-most in the league – 1.4 interceptions and won 5.8 duels – at a success rate of 55% – per top flight fixture. The American has also impressed in possession of the ball, creating one big chance for his teammates, in addition to completing an average of 46.5 passes, 1.7 long balls and 1.3 key passes – the third-most in the Leeds squad – per game. https://theathletic.com/3750599/2022/11/02/tyler-adams-leeds-jesse-marsch-liverpool/ No coach in the game would recruit Adams for goals, assists or deadly attacking play. In 11 appearances for Leeds, Adams has posted 0.04 for expected goals (xG), the same as zero in real terms. He has had only two shots on goal and neither of them on target. But he seems unabashed in accepting that he is not that type of player or here to fixate on those aspects of the game, although his shot-creating actions (SCA) data — the metric that measures the two offensive actions before a shot is taken — ranks higher than Marc Roca’s and is steady enough at 1.91 per 90 minutes, building the picture of someone who contributes more than the naked eye sees. The speed of transition-to-attempts-on-goal that Marsch craves means the graft he gets from Adams — the interventions, the interceptions, the counter-pressing — should lay the ground for a few opportunities. At Anfield, his touches over 90 minutes (below) came almost exclusively between both boxes, most of them either directly behind the halfway line or out towards the right, concentrating on the side of the pitch he had been allocated alongside Roca. His constant presence and reliable positioning was one reason Liverpool’s midfield were never able to settle and why much of the post-match narrative concerning Liverpool’s shortcomings focused on that area of the pitch. https://www.thesquareball.net/leeds-united/tyler-adams-gets-it/ if somebody wants to know what Adams is bringing to Leeds United, show them Adams sprinting into Andy Robertson’s face to make sure he didn’t get away with a sly kick at Brenden Aaronson; or show them Adams clattering into a fifty-fifty challenge with Fabinho, refusing to concede an inch no matter how much it was going to hurt; or show them Adams leading the celebrations in front of the away end at full-time, congratulating each of his teammates, ending with a basketball jump at a bewildered Illan Meslier, happy to go along with whatever Tyler was doing. In the black and white context of a result, those moments don’t matter. In the hearts of a supporter, they mean everything. Tyler Adams gets it. At Anfield, Adams was competing against a Liverpool midfield containing Thiago Alcantara, one of the most aesthetically pleasing footballers on the planet. Raised on tiki taka in Barcelona’s academy, before Pep Guardiola asked Bayern Munich for “Thiago or nothing”, he controls and passes a ball with the tenderness of a painter applying their brush to a canvas. At least until Adams rocks up and kicks over his easel. Thiago has only recorded a lower passing accuracy this season in games against Arsenal and Manchester City, because wherever he looked for a teammate to give the ball to, he only saw Leeds’ number 12. The speed and persistence with which Adams gravitates around the pitch, pulling him towards the ball, is reminiscent of N’Golo Kante. https://www.leedsunited.news/news/tony-dorigo-says-leeds-star-is-a-leader-his-attitude-is-an-example-for-his-teammates/ Following the win, many Leeds fans took to social media and suggested that the United States midfielder is a future captain of our side. It is easy to see why. He embodies everything Leeds fans love in a player; hard work, being one. His ability on the ball is not as good as the likes of Roca, or Brenden Aaronson. But he runs all day, and his strength, tackling and ability to read the game and make interceptions is something Leeds needed when Kalvin Phillips left. He is the perfect Leeds player and without doubt, a future Leeds captain. As long as Leeds can keep hold of him in the next few years, you would expect he could be in line to take the armband off of Liam Cooper. https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/football/leeds-united/leeds-uniteds-definitive-transfer-answer-from-man-not-doing-himself-justice-on-twitter-3902653 Adams is employed chiefly as wrecking-ball in front of the back four by Jesse Marsch, a player who will swing this way and that, merrily crashing into opposition attacks and obliterating them before they can even get started. Leeds like a midfielder who can do that. They loved Kalvin Phillips for it, after Marcelo Bielsa turned him into a one-man defensive destruction crew in the 4-1-4-1 system that brought such success to Elland Road. But even as Bielsa's lone wolf prowling around ahead of the back line, Phillips only ever had to record three tackles per 90 minutes at the absolute most. Adams is currently lining up four per 90 and his season-long tally of 44 puts him second in the Premier League. Even though his taste for defensive work was a big part of the reason why Marsch wanted to work with Adams for the third time in their careers, the 23-year-old is doing more of it than ever before. At Leipzig last season his tackles per 90 sat at 1.53. https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/sport/leeds-united/leeds-united-fly-ointment-europes-25401079 Tyler Adams had just completed 90 of the hardest minutes he’s had for Leeds United, but you would not have believed it based on his final-whistle exertions. Adams just kept going and going and going as he sprinted to celebrate with Jesse Marsch, before racing to the away end for screaming and fist pumps. It all played into the indefatigable streak Adams has shown since arriving in the summer. The USA international was sorely missed in the loss to Fulham and all too gladly welcomed back on a special night at Anfield. Illan Meslier did his best to outshine the midfielder, but Adams’s consistency has been key. While others may see their form rise and fall through a season
