"Speaking to him" - Derby County legend makes Ebou Adams claim as Rams eye Cardiff City ace | OneFootball

Derby County great Malcolm Christie believes Cardiff City "hold all the aces" over the future of Ebou Adams.

The 28-year-old returned to the Bluebirds after helping the Rams secure promotion to the Championship last season and Derby remain hopeful of bringing the Gambia international back to the Midlands this summer.

Adams played a key role in Derby's Championship push after signing on loan in January, starting all of his 17 appearances in League One as the Rams finished second in League One, five points behind Portsmouth.

Deployed as the sitting midfielder in Paul Warne's 3-4-3 formation, Adams strengthened the Rams' midfield and provided the perfect screen for their back three. Derby conceded just 37 goals last season - the best defensive record in League One - with only seven coming after Adams' arrival in January.

But Christie, who scored 35 goals in 127 appearances for Derby in five years, believes Adams' performances at Pride Park could limit the Rams' chances of securing his services for another season.

Ebou Adams played crucial role in Derby's promotion

"He is under contract there [at Cardiff] and he's put himself massively the shop window hasn't he? That's just how football works," he told The Derby Telegraph.

"I'm sure there will be potential other suitors there but we know how much he enjoyed his time at Derby. Speaking to him at first hand, he loved it and he's a really nice guy with an infectious personality.

"He gave it his all in every single game when at the start there was a question mark over his fitness."

Erol Bulut's contract extension could clear up Ebou Adams' future

Adams' future should become clearer after Bluebirds manager Erol Bulut signed a two-year extension to remain in Wales until the end of the 2025-26 season.

The 49-year-old took charge at Cardiff in June 2023 on a one-year agreement and led the team to a 12-th place finish last season.

For his part, Adams was non-committal when asked about his future after Derby secured promotion.

"I can't say it - it's so difficult! It's never goodbye from me," he told The Derby Telegraph at the end of April.

"First of all I'm going to enjoy my summer! I don't know where I'm going to be. I'll enjoy my summer first and foremost and then we'll see where we're at, but I've enjoyed every single minute of it and thank you so much for having me here."

Derby are among the sides looking to sign Adama Sidibeh from St. Johnstone as they plan for life in the Championship and have been linked with Nottingham Forest attacking midfielder Ateef Konate, who has confirmed that he will be leaving the City Ground this summer as his contract expires.

And while re-signing Adams, who is under contract until the summer of 2026, would be a major coup ahead of their first season in the Championship for three years, Christie warned the Rams had to bolster their attacking options first.

"There will be some money floating about, but do you want to put all your eggs in that type of Adams basket when we need a centre forward?," he said.

"But midfield is a real key position. You look at the spine of the team and Adams would tick that box of your holding midfielder. [...] Cardiff might look and say he's done really well there, they might even be looking at him for their own team. I just think Cardiff hold all the aces with that deal."