Exclusive: With three months remaining on Adams’ Southampton contract, Gary O’Neil is trying to expand his options offensively.
Wolves are ahead of opponents facing Premier League relegation in the competition for Southampton striker Che Adams, who is a free agent.
With three months remaining on his St Mary’s deal, Adams, 27, can discuss a pre-contract with overseas teams in the summer, although English teams are interested in signing him for free.
After Wolves’ incredible season, Gary O’Neil has been looking for a No. 9 at Molineux, and it’s known that Adams is very much on his radar for the 2024–2025 campaign, which may potentially contain European play.
Adams has been a target for Everton and Nottingham Forest in recent transfer windows, although their places in the top division are far from assured following point deductions for breaking Premier League profit-and-sustainability regulations. With four points separating them from Forest, the latter are in the relegation zone.
Adams joined Southampton after they were relegated the previous season, giving him four years of Premier League experience. This season, he has been playing well, having netted nine goals in his last eighteen games for Saints before the international break, when he traveled with Scotland.
He is one of the few free agents available this summer with Premier League experience, having begun in the EFL with Sheffield United and Birmingham City. He has no new deal agreed upon at Southampton.
He scored 25 goals and contributed 13 assists in his four seasons in the Premier League, earning him a call-up to the Scottish national team. He participated in the most recent European Championships, starting the goalless draw at Wembley against England.
Over the weekend, scouts from the top clubs in Europe traveled to Portugal, with Bundesliga teams keeping an eye on Blackburn’s Rory Finneran and the Republic of Ireland Under-17s’ matchup versus Germany being of great interest.
Young players are free to relocate inside the European Union under FIFA’s Article 19, but Brexit blocked their path to the Premier League, where foreign teams are actively scouting Ireland’s top players.
The sixteen-year-old Irish midfielder Finneran, who represented Rovers in the FA Cup this season, is being watched by European teams. At Estadio Dr. Jose De Matos, Germany prevailed 2-0 in the match.
Mike Rigg, the former sporting director of Manchester City, will begin work at the aspirational Birmingham City next month in a pivotal role.
The American owners of the team, Knighthead, have hired Rigg to join Birmingham’s academy in a broad role.
As Birmingham prepares for the future, Rigg—who has also held positions at Burnley and Fulham—is seen as an essential addition.
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