Leeds United, Southampton and Wolves tug-of-war will surely intensify after latest Che Adams development: View | OneFootball

Southampton’s 3-0 win over Preston North End on Tuesday put them firmly back in the race for automatic promotion.

The Saints’ patchy form a few weeks ago meant they were considered out of the race, but inconsistency from Ipswich Town, Leicester City, and Leeds United has meant they are now back in that fantastic race.

Southampton had forward Che Adams to thank for Tuesday’s heroics, as he netted twice, helping the club on their way to all three points.

This double comes after it was reported that both Leeds and Wolverhampton Wanderers are in a fight to sign Adams this summer.

The striker has been mentioned with an exit for the majority of this season, and it now seems there is a tug of war going on between these two sides.

Che Adams has been with Southampton since the summer of 2019, when he joined the club after impressing with Birmingham City.

The forward was a key player for the club in the numerous years in the Premier League, and that has continued into this campaign.

However, there has been more speculation surrounding the player, as he is in the final year of his contract, and at this minute, he will be leaving at the end of June for free.

According to TEAMtalk, Leeds United and Wolves are both looking to sign Adams this summer on a free transfer.

Both clubs are said to be looking to strengthen their forward line this summer, and Adams is seen as a key target, given his contractual situation.

So, given what the forward did on Tuesday night, it seems the fight between Leeds, Wolves, and Southampton will intensify.

Che Adams’ brace is likely to see the fight between Southampton, Leeds, and Wolves intensify

As mentioned, both in the summer and the January transfer window, there was a lot of talk about the future of Che Adams.

But nothing materialised for the player, and he has remained a Southampton player, playing an important role in the club trying to return to the Premier League.

Surprisingly, the 27-year-old may have gone under the radar this season, as he’s been in and out of the side throughout the campaign. While players like Adam Armstrong, Ryan Fraser, and David Brooks have received more of the credit.

But Adams has very much been an important player for the Saints this season, and his double against the Lilywhites has proved that.

In that game against Preston, Adams played 76 minutes, during which he had three shots on target and two off it, as well as missing one big chance, per Sofascore.com.

Furthermore, the forward had 34 touches of the ball and completed 19 of his 25 passes attempted, meaning he had an accuracy of 76%.

Adams won one of his four aerial duals, with the only disappointing aspect being that he lost possession nine times. All of this helped Adams score two goals, which was better than his predicted xG of 1.62, and he finished the game with an impressive Sofascore statistical rating of 8.6.

This performance is likely to see Leeds and Wolves intensify their hopes of signing the player, as they will be impressed with what he is doing. However, it will also mean that Southampton will be even more keen to keep hold of the striker, and therefore, it could be a tug of war in what happens with the centre-forward.

Adams will know there is talk in the background, but he will want to concentrate on his football and finish the season as best as he can. He will hope he can continue his form shown against Preston, and if he does, there may be a few more teams sniffing around than just Leeds and Wolves.

Southampton will hope that achieving promotion to the Premier League will strengthen their cause in retaining the player, as if they don't, it could be very difficult to see him staying at the club beyond this summer.