"Pretty poor business from Southampton" - Wolves plotting summer swoop for Che Adams | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

The Championship season has not yet concluded, but it already looks as though Southampton may struggle to hold on to one of their most experienced players this summer.

Wolves eyeing deal for Southampton striker Che Adams

That is according to The Telegraph, who have reported that Premier League outfit Wolves are keen on a deal for Saints striker Che Adams.

As per their report, the Black Country side are leading the race to sign the 27-year-old this summer, with the player set to be available on a free transfer, having been interested in the summer with a £18 million bid being reportedly turned down from Molineux.

At present, Adams has just three months remaining on his current contract at the St Mary's Stadium, and Wolves boss Gary O'Neill is said to have the forward firmly on his radar ahead of the 2024-25 season.

Wolves transfer interest in Che Adams should concern Southampton

With Wolves linked to Adams, two questions arise.

Firstly, would the 27-year-old be a good addition to the Wolves squad, and secondly, should Southampton be concerned about losing him?

Some of our FLW writers have discussed these issues below.

Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson

With it now just three months until Che Adams contract expires, there must be concern at Southampton that he could walk away for nothing at the end of the season.

Of course, the club are still hoping that they can go on and win promotion, and maybe that will be enough to convince Adams to pen a new deal should favourable terms be offered.

However, it must be said that Wolves' interest in the Southampton star means that from their perspective, there is a real danger of losing him.

Although he has not always been a regular starter this campaign, with 10 goals in 30 league matches he has contributed towards Southampton's promotion chances, and with six goals in 12 since Christmas, he could play a key role in the Saints' run-in yet.

Even if Saints go up, Wolves are a more established side, and should their season end well, they may even have European football to offer Adams ahead of next season.

We have seen this year how tough it is in the top-flight for sides just promoted from the Championship, and it is not as though they have dominated in the second tier, either.

From Wolves' perspective, they would be a getting a solid forward, but not a spectacular one. However, on a free transfer, they probably won't mind that one bit.

Having signed Adams for around £15 million back in 2019, Southampton will be very disappointed to lose him for nothing this summer if indeed that transpires.

that has gone unsigned for most of the 2023-24 season, it feels pretty sure that the 27-year-old will be moving on this summer.

There has been plenty of interest in the Scotland international since the summer, and it now looks like pretty poor business from Southampton to turn down the figures they did from Wolves and other clubs.

Southampton stand to make a £15 million loss this summer on Adams, and he has been overshadowed by fellow striker Adam Armstrong this season - there was even a long period of time that he couldn't even get into the starting 11 under Russell Martin.

The Saints obviously want to keep him irrespective of what division they are in next season, hence the contract offer from 2023, but failure to win promotion will certainly mean he will likely return to the Premier League with another club.

Should promotion be won, then I can still see Adams moving on - Wolves are based a lot closer to Adams' roots of Leicester and if offered a good contract, the forward will surely want to base himself back in the Midlands.

Wolves aren't exactly blessed with many centre-forward options going into next season either, so there's a chance that under Gary O'Neil he would get a lot of game-time - it could be a real bargain deal for them and a massive blow for the Saints, who should've perhaps accepted an offer when they had the chance.