Tyler Adams has admitted that he wanted to give more to the Leeds United cause during the latter stages of his time at Elland Road, making this admission as he took to X to issue his goodbye message to the Whites’ supporters.
The American’s time at Elland Road was disrupted by injury problems, with the player making just 26 competitive appearances in total, though he did spend just one full campaign in West Yorkshire.
Adams has been ruled out of action since the middle of March after sustaining a serious hamstring injury.
Not only did that keep him out of action for the remainder of the 2022/23 campaign, but it has also ruled him out of the start of the 2023/24 season with the player failing to appear for the club against Cardiff City, Shrewsbury Town, Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion on Friday night.
More importantly, he missed the latter stages of 2022/23 which meant he was unable to contribute in Leeds’ fight for survival.
In the end, they were unable to secure an escape and finished in 19th place, consigning them to Championship football following an impressive spell in the Premier League.
How the Tyler Adams saga played out
There was a lot of speculation about Adams’ future at Elland Road but after a move to Chelsea fell through, it looked as though the American was going to stay put in West Yorkshire beyond the summer window, with his injury in mind.
However, the player had a release clause in his contract and AFC Bournemouth thought they had triggered it in time to take the United States international to the Vitality Stadium for a fee believed to be in the region of £20m.
But that clause was time-limited and Leeds believed it had expired, leaving Adams in limbo.
In the end though, with the player wanting to make the move to the south coast, the two sides were able to come to a compromise and agreed a £23m deal.
What did Tyler Adams say following his Leeds United exit?
Despite the fact he’s still recovering from his injury, he has made the switch to the Vitality since then and had a message for the Whites’ supporters.
Posting his goodbye message on X, he stated: “Not an easy goodbye.
“The club, my teammates and the fans have supported me since day 1, and I wish I could’ve given more in the home stretch. Forever grateful for this past year.”
Should Tyler Adams have been more committed to Leeds United?
Considering the Wilfried Gnonto saga, Adams could have made himself a hero at Elland Road if he remained committed.
Although the injury was a factor out of his control, Leeds spent time getting him ready again and you just feel it would have been fair for him to have been at the club for one more season to help the Whites get back to the top flight.
If they hadn’t secured promotion, he would have had the right to move on.
It could be argued that he has every right to move on now because not many players would reject a move to the top flight when they’re in the second tier.
But it would have been nice for Leeds if he had stayed a bit longer.