The media in Leeds are claiming that Che Adams is close to moving to Elland Road after Saints named their terms for a deal, but how accurate is that.

The Yorkshire rumour mill is in meltdown with so called "Reliable reporters" suggesting that Leeds United have agreed terms with Saints for Che Adams to join the Championship club.

They say that Saints are demanding a £1 million loan fee and a option to buy in the summer at £10 million.

But with Ralph Hasenhuttl reported as wanting to keep Adams, why would Saints sell now and why at such a loss if the deal should be made permanent in the summer.

The facts are that although Adams hasn't scored this season he hasn't played badly he had a great game at Chelsea on Boxing Day and after coming on as a sub at Leicester set up the winner for Danny Ings.

With Saints currently in a little bit of No Mans Land in the Premier League where they are only a few wins from safety and if they got those wins sooner than later could amazingly enough be in with a chance of a European Qualification place, getting rid of Adams makes no sense.

Although we have four strikers in Ings, Long, Obafemi and Adams with an option to play Djenepo up front, it is still a line up that could suddenly be stretched to the limits, Long, Djenepo and Obafemi have all had their injury problems this season and Danny Ings has yet to have a bad spell.

This means that Adams could yet have a part to play this season and it seems Ralph Hasenhuttl feels the same way after his displays in recent games.

Certainly he will be looking towards next season for Adams to play bigger part, Shane Long has forced his way back as first choice, but he will turn 33 in the next week or so and is no longer a 38 game a season striker, he will be out of contract and although Saints may well offer him a new deal, he may also prefer to get one last pay day with a move after 6 seasons at St Mary's.

So selling Che Adams now does not seem to be a wise move for Saints unless they have something up their sleeve in the January transfer window as a replacement, selling him on the cheap without really giving him the chance to prove himself seems short sighted as well.

I hope that this is just agents talk trying to push a move forward, certainly all the noise is coming from the media who will be getting their information from agents.

Football clubs rarely brief the pres until a deal is done and they certainly don't reveal the financial details before pen is put to paper, that is a sure way to upset the other club involved.

With Eddie Nketiah being recalled by Arsenal and Leeds promotion bid stalling with only one win in their last six Championship games, they will be keen to avoid a repetition of last season when after looking odds on favourites for promotion at Xmas they faded badly.

Therefore this could be more about PR for Leeds, trying to show their fans they are ambitious and are trying to add to their squad and if they fail to do so it won't be for the lack of trying.

I would be shocked and disappointed if this deal went ahead not only from a footballing point of view, but aslo because we have cut our losses cheaply far too soon on a player who has shown he has the potential to succeed at this level.

Photo: Action Images

underweststand added 10:48 - Jan 13 This story has been filed, and copied and re-run more times that I can count during the last month or so. Clearly it's been a miserable time for Ché and the more game time he gets without scoring the worse it must feel for someone who scored 20+ goals last season - even if it was in the Championship. Also, its obvious he was a key man with Birmingham, and they played to his strengths, but the opposition was a lower class too, and many Prem. sides have top class defenders. He was dropped after his first 6 Prem games ..and from memory we gave Carrillo more chances than that before dropping him - permanently. It all rests on Ralph's opinion..should we perservere and try to give him more game time (in place of who?) ..or cut our losses, get the best deal possible and put some hard money in the transfer kitty.? If he moves, finds form and starts scoring again, we stand the chance of getting Leeds back in the Prem. - I don't welcome that prospect. At present, Danny Ings - seems to be scoring for fun - and providing he remains fit, scores more goals and keeps his shirt on ... we will be fine. Without Danny, we have no established strikers able to put the ball in the net on any sort of regular basis...and where does this stupid story about Spurs wanting him come from? Who do they think they are - Liverpool ? ...and who on Earth would want to play for Jose Moan-inho? . Spurs have a big name, big stadium - but pay small salaries it seems. For my part . I'd put this story on the spike, keep Che in the hopes that he eventually start scoring again, and can build a genuine partnership with Ings.

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bstokesaint added 12:37 - Jan 13 I’d be extremely disappointed if we let a young prospect go so easily. I’d like to think Che would be very disappointed in himself too, as he doesn’t strike me as a quitter. Sometimes you have to learn your trade and I, like many other fans, are prepared to give the younger players more time to prove themselves. If he was loaned out to rebuild his confidence that wouldn’t be the end of the world, but as you say Nick that would leave us with little cover. Like all strikers, a goal or two changes everything and you can tell he’s giving it everything.

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LordDZLucan added 13:57 - Jan 13 Che Adams hasn't had time to adapt to the Premier League so why would we write off this early. It took Danny Ings a whole season to get back up to speed in the Premier League and look at him now!
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Colburn added 14:42 - Jan 13 Utter madness.. He will be worth 40 million within 2 years. Superb player who just hasn't had the luck yet. Jim White says we've 'blocked' the move, as if it was almost a deal or he would be moving to a better team.. Typical gutter press stuff from this narcissistic clown.
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saintmark1976 added 15:31 - Jan 13 If the terms suggest by Nick are correct we as a club must be in desperate need of cash flow.One million pounds up front and a loss of five ( we paid fifteen) million in the summer would indicate big underlying financial problems to me.
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legod7 added 15:54 - Jan 13 Eddie Nketiah was recalled by Arsenal from Leeds because he wasn’t getting any game time. So how is it now all of a sudden a disaster for Leeds by only having Bamford up top.
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davidargyll added 16:32 - Jan 13 There are three reasons why players get transferred: 1. because he doesn't like where he is; 2. the manager doesn't like him or thinks he's no good; and 3. the club is offered a price they cannot refuse. Re Che: 1, possibly but certainly not a given; RH definitely wants him to stay; and 3. £10m + £1m loan fee? way too low. Re Dany Inngs (bearing in kind this story was cooked up by Paul Merson on Sky with no grounds to back it up at all apart from Kane being off games for three months): 1. very unlikely; 2. do me a favour; and 3. £75m I would say we would have to start to be tempted but no sign of that.

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Big_T added 18:35 - Jan 13 What a load !
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AndrewW_London added 21:06 - Jan 13 I'd be furious and hugely disappointed were we to loan/sell Ché Adams to Leeds. It makes no sense whatsoever and surely Ralph is right to dig his heels in on this one and block any move. Yes, he's not yet scored for us in the PL but he's a quality player and could be a massive asset for us once he finds his form. His performance at Chelsea was superb and the assist on Saturday for Ings' winner showed what he can do. Once he starts scoring I'm sure he'll go on a run. So, under no circumstances should he leave Saints. Leeds can p!ss off!!

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A1079 added 22:44 - Jan 13 When this story was first coming to the fore, I just thought it was another rumour with little substance, but there has been enough noise now to suggest that there is or was something in it. Add to the fact, that Leeds have got their annual promotion jitters and they know if they don't go up this year they will struggle to keep Bielsa and fund another push. But, I would be bitterly disappointed if this were to happen. Adams may not have scored but he has been key to the recent results and he is building a relationship with the players. They say fans are impatient, but that cannot be said this time. The fans have been supporting him as, has been shown on this thread and forum. We are willing to wait. What message does it send to the player if we palm him off on loan or worse still sell him when he has not had a year and limited playing time? The other factor is our first team squad is quite thin. We only need a couple of injuries or suspensions and our options become limited. I know it is being said that Ralph is blocking the move. I hope that is right and the club stick to his wishes (if that is the case) but what is worrying is that it was considered in the first place. On Saturday, what I would really love is for the Saints fans to sing Che Adams name in full voice whether he gets playing time or not. He, the team, the club need to know, we are behind him.

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underweststand added 13:08 - Jan 14 There should always be a Plan B ..so what happens IF Ché Adams does get a move /loan?. With no recognised striker capable of putting the ball in the net .I wonderd who would be a replacement? I'm sure that "The Black Box" has dozens of names , but one that comes to the top of the pile is....Guido Carrillo . OK you ...stop laughing ! YES we know about his short history at SMS, but tbf he came at a time when the whole team was playing poorly, and we were busy trying to stop conceding goals, and got dumped by two managers -neither of whom had a clue how to get us up-and-running. Every new player needs time to adjust but my memory of those (few) games he played is that he got zero service from a struggling midfield, but managed just two assists. The problem for " misfits" is that either their face doesn't fit ..or they don't fit the formation that the manager prefers. (Classic cases were Carroll's move to Liverpool and Torres move to Chelsea.) As Ralph has managed to upgrade most of the squad, I wonder if he could do something to breate life into this man's career- if for no other reason than he is our worst / most expensive buy - with a high salary - and a long contract, and we ought to gte something for our investment. If he were to get a few goals?.. it would benefit the team, and validate his fee - whether he were to stay - or move on. OK ...I said it was a Plan B...but i could think of worse ideas.

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SaintPaulVW added 15:49 - Jan 14 Just cannot see us cashing in at a loss after only 6 months.
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janecook added 16:37 - Jan 14 2 weeks gone and still no new players coming in!
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London_Matt added 18:48 - Jan 14 We have a history of developing players and selling them at their best (shame for us of course), why would be sell one of our best prospects to Leeds, a team who could be in the Prem next year???? This story is absolutely made up by the press and lazy journalists as usual for us!
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SanMarco added 00:03 - Jan 15 Why on earth would we sell him at a loss after less than 6 months? This story started as a simple loan until the end of the season (could make sense to give him game time) but now Leeds seem to be desparate. I would be very surprised and disappointed if this happens and I don't think it will.
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TimSaint added 09:11 - Jan 15 He isn't going. Ralph said he doesn't want him to go. He is under contract at Saints so why let him go. He is just starting to find a bit of form, so worth giving more opportunities to him.
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