Nice piece about the value of Che in The Athletic - Don’t doubt selfless Che Adams – he’s a key part of Danny Ings’ success please log in to view this image By Dan Sheldon 7h ago please log in to view this image 8 please log in to view this image Che Adams is something of an enigma. Devastating in the Championship for Birmingham City but goal-shy in the Premier League for Southampton. He’ll have supporters pulling their hair out and in the next breath will put the ball on a plate for strike partner Danny Ings to score. Southampton’s most recent match, a 3-3 draw away to Champions League side Chelsea, encapsulated everything fans and pundits say about Adams. His 86 minutes at Stamford Bridge included a brilliant opportunity wasted, his first goal of 2020-21 and an assist for Ings. Last season it took Adams until his 30th appearance to get off the mark for Southampton but then he embarked on a run that saw him score a further three times in the final five matches. Based on the evidence during Project Restart, you would be foolish to bet against the £15 million signing entering a hot streak after Saturday’s goal against Chelsea. But with a little more composure in front of goal, there’s a strong argument that Adams should be level with — or very close to — Ings’ early-season total of four. According to Opta, Adams has missed four big chances already this season. That is more than any other Premier League player and is a league table no striker wants to top. For context, Newcastle United’s Callum Wilson, Sadio Mane of Liverpool and Everton duo Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison have each squandered three clear-cut opportunities. The Southampton forward has so far had six shots on target, four off target and one blocked, giving him a conversion rate of 10 per cent, which, when you only include players to have taken a crack at goal, leaves him fourth from bottom in the Premier League table. Only Richarlison (9.09 per cent), Brighton & Hove Albion’s Leonardo Trossard (8.33 per cent) and Harvey Barnes of Leicester City (8.33 per cent) fare worse in this department. Ings, by the way, has a conversion rate of 40 per cent. So, how does Adams close that gap? Take his first chance against Chelsea, where he had the opportunity to give Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side an eighth-minute lead. Theo Walcott, making his second debut for Southampton after 14 years away with Arsenal and Everton, lost control of the ball, but this afforded Adams the time to pick his spot. Adams, however, snatched at the effort as opposed to taking his time and letting the ball roll across the front of his body. Had he done this, the angle to place a shot to Kepa Arrizabalaga’s left, the opposite side to where the goalkeeper was standing, would have opened up. This also happened against Crystal Palace on the opening day of the season. The ball landed at Adams’ feet and he opted for a first-time shot. Goalkeeper Vicente Guaita had left space to score to his right which, given the Southampton player’s position, was perfect. However, Adams ended up rifling a shot straight at Guaita, spurning the chance to equalise in a game Palace won 1-0. Timing appears to be the main issue with Adams. It may seem like nothing but the best strikers never appear to be in a rush. When Ings has the ball inside the area, he manages to find the extra split-second to compose himself before shooting. Another example of Adams not doing this could be seen during the win over Burnley a month ago. He received the ball in a crowded penalty area and opted to hit it with his weaker foot, the left, sending it over the crossbar. Although there were several Burnley players in the vicinity, Adams appeared to have enough time to shift it onto his right foot, which, again, would have opened up a bigger area of the goal for him to aim at. During the 5-2 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur a week before that win over Burnley, an opportunity presented itself in the 10th minute with the game still goalless. Adams proceeded to fire the ball straight at Hugo Lloris, who pulled off a fine save. This piece isn’t about highlighting Adams’ flaws, though, it’s the opposite. His selflessness, energy and ability to be a team player make him perfect for Hasenhuttl’s system and, as each game passes, the partnership with Ings gets stronger. You could make an argument that Shane Long helps the England international in the same way, but Adams, almost a decade younger than the Irishman, is the future. Southampton’s manager is right to persevere. If we go back to that opening game against Palace, Adams found himself on the edge of the box with more than enough space to have a pop at goal. But he realised Nathan Redmond to his left was in an even better position. Although this move didn’t end in a Southampton goal, how many strikers would be willing to pass rather than shoot in a similar situation? A glaring example of what else Adams brings to the team to compensate for the lack of goals so far can be seen by breaking down Ings’ well-taken finish on Saturday. Stage one: Adams tracks back and wins the ball off Havertz to prevent Chelsea starting a counter-attack. please log in to view this image (Photo: Southampton FC/YouTube) Stage two: He surges forward, gets his head up and spots Ings’ run before playing his team-mate in with a perfectly weighted pass. please log in to view this image (Photo: Southampton FC/YouTube) Stage three: Ings rounds Kepa to score, getting Southampton back in the game just before half-time. please log in to view this image (Photo: Southampton FC/YouTube) “He (Adams) is always extremely hard-working for the squad,” Hasenhuttl said after seeing his team grab a point with an added-time equaliser. “And with Ingsy, the more they play together, the more automatism they get.” Asked specifically about what the goal will do for Adams’s confidence, the manager added: “For a striker, it’s quite helpful if you score.” That wasn’t the only time Adams has laid one on a plate for his in-form team-mate, either. In the build-up to the only goal at Burnley, he had the chance to shoot, albeit from a tight angle, but had the wherewithal to look up and realise Ings was better placed to score what proved the winner. please log in to view this image (Photo: Southampton FC/YouTube) please log in to view this image (Photo: Southampton FC/YouTube) Despite a tough start to his Southampton career goals-wise, Adams’ willingness to develop has never waned. In March, just before coronavirus led to football being brought to a halt, he was desperate for game time. He hadn’t started a match since the FA Cup tie against Huddersfield Town at the start of January and had become accustomed to going on as a substitute in the final 20 minutes of games. Whether it was to gain confidence or boost his chances of scoring, he and midfielder Oriol Romeu asked Hasenhuttl if they could play for the under-23s against their Leicester counterparts. Clearly impressed by this hunger for work, the Austrian gave the pair his permission. Southampton lost that game 3-1, but guess who scored their goal? Yes, Adams. He had been heavily linked with a move to Championship title-bound Leeds United throughout the January transfer window but Hasenhuttl ruled it out. “He is a guy who is one day a little bit frustrated when he sees he doesn’t play but then when the game comes, he shows up immediately and this is fantastic,” the Southampton manager said after the window shut. “That’s why we brought him here.” Hasenhuttl was desperate to sign the player from Birmingham City in January 2019 — he knows he has a first-class striker in Adams. It was a tough start to life in the Premier League for him, but he is starting to show the qualities needed to be successful in the top flight. A weight will surely be lifted off his shoulders by that first goal of the season and he might have the confidence now to take an extra touch if needs be. If this turns out to be the case, just watch him go. (Top photo: Ben Stansall/Pool/Getty Images)
I really like him. He's quick, strong and has great technique. A lot of his chances have genuinely been really unlucky
Keepers have made some great saves from his efforts as well as other chances he would probably bury on form. He is an asset to the team and fully worth his place right now.
His all round play has been pretty good right from the beginning of last season and seems to have gone up a notch post lockdown. Hopefully more goals will come.
I like him. He is like Long - it isn't about the goals it is about what he adds to the team, and we are a poorer team without him. The difference between him and Long is I feel the goals will come regularly, rather just in 'Titanic' moments and in 7.69 seconds. Love Shane though. Just for those two moments he is forever a Saints legend.
It's not like we set the bar particularly high for Saints strikers. No one is expecting him to rival Danny; if he can score more regularly than Shane, while proving as much of a menace to defenders, he'll be judged a success. That article seems to be saying that he needs to find a bit more composure in front of goal. That'll probably come; he's still getting used to the PL imo, not every striker can take the step us as easily as Rickie did (or Jamie Vardy). We'll see goals from Theo too if he stays fit, I'm sure of that.
For as long as we play with a front 2, I'm happy with Che being up there. He's exactly the sort of strike partner anyone would want to have
He is up to speed with this league now, whereas he wasn`t before the lockdown. His pressing is impressive now, and his partnership with Ings is developing all the time, as demonstrated by Ings goals against Burnley and Chelsea for example.
I saw some stats article that was showing shooting accuracy (total shots v shots on target) and Danny was no 1 and Che no 4. Not bad at all
He is a good player. He was a good player at Birmingham. He was a good player when he first came to us. He is a good player.
I'm loving Che's game. So strong and quick, he's become a real handful for even the very best sides. A few more goals under his belt and I think we will see them flowing regularly.
He will come good in respect to getting goals. His all round play is excellant. I am expecting this to be his breakthrough season and bagging 10 EPL goals by the end.
He has a pre-injury JRod season in him i'm sure and if Danny continues to bang them in then there could be exciting times ahead. I believe we have our best attack since Jay, Adam and Rickie and then Pelle, Dusan and Mane.
Glad you said this. Che gives me Jay Rod vibes too. He's more physically adept and contributes more to creating for Danny than Jay was in the early stages of his time at Saints, but I get the same vibe that there's a goalscorer in there behind the hard work and we'll see that side of him before too long.
Yeah, 10 goals would be a decent return from him, and is comfortably achievable. As someone else has said (cba to search back, soz), he may turn out to be a bit “streaky”, like Gabbi was; in which case hopefully last weekend’s goal might be the start of a little run.
Che certainly has the ability to succeed in the PL. What has become apparent in the last few months is he's got the mental toughness to succeed as well. It can't have been fun for him to watch Ings banging them in on the bench but he stuck it out and now he's a no brainer to start.
