Leeds United man drowning out unhelpful transfer narrative so well that another has popped up

Were it not for Adams' almost superhuman efforts in the colours and armband of the US Men's National Team, the Whites might have been left only red in the face by this tournament. Friday 25 November was all-but renamed Look What You Could Have Won Day, as not only Gakpo found the net for the Netherlands against Ecuador, but fellow Elland Road summer transfer target Bamba Dieng did the same for Senegal against Qatar. But along came Adams with an intervention as timely as those that have frustrated a succession of opponents, changing the tune by performing so admirably against England.

And as Gakpo did his bit, for the third game running, in the win over Qatar, Adams did his too, also for the third game running, against Iran. As relentless as the PSV striker, who Leeds genuinely seemed to believe they had a chance of signing late in the summer window, has been, so too has Adams, a player they did manage to get over the line for what now looks a bargainous sum of £20m.

Footballing fate, as is its want, has thrown the pair together in the round of 16 and they will meet on Saturday in Al Rayyan's Khalifa International Stadium. For Gakpo it will be another opportunity to impress upon his Champions League suitors their need of him in their attacking line-up, while for Adams it will be a chance to lead his nation beyond the last 16 for only the third time in history. If, in doing so, he quietens the Gakpo narrative around his own club, it will be a happy coincidence for all at Elland Road.

Even Andrea Radrizzani's own firms, ELEVEN Football and Whistle FC have been churning out less than helpful reminders of the player for whom he said Leeds would continue to work to sign, as that summer bid fell apart. "Cody Gakpo’s price is going UP," Tweeted ELEVEN Football, just before Whistle FC joined in with: "Fill in the blank: After this #FIFAWorldCup, Cody Gakpo will be worth ____?" Too much, is the answer from a Whites point of view, although Gakpo's sights were already set higher than a Premier League midtable hopeful even before he added the World Cup to his ridiculous 2021/22 goalscoring CV.

So by covering every inch of grass, pestering opponents to distraction and moving the ball simply and smartly, Adams has represented much more comforting and wholesome content for Leeds during this tournament.The only problem of course is that when your player goes to a major international competition and tells a good story, it starts to take on an element of familiarity for any club subject to the whims and wealth of the game's current superpowers.

In Adams' case, a deep-lying midfielder proving himself more than worthy of the highest level, it's a story Leeds have heard before. There are certain parallels to draw between Adams and Kalvin Phillips, the man he essentially and surprisingly quickly replaced at Elland Road. They operate in a similar area of the pitch, with the same ruthless determination to go through or around opponents to recover the ball, and a willingness to keep things simple and provide a platform for the flair players higher up the pitch. Their off-field knack of saying the right thing and representing their teams professionally, while letting enough of their passion for the game and their likeable personalities out into the world, makes it easy to will them on to success.

So far this World Cup has been for Adams what the Euros was for Phillips in 2021 - a breakout moment that catapulted the Leeds-born lad into the living rooms and consciousness of the sport's mainstream. His USMNT getting to the final, as England did in 2021, would be a miracle far beyond anything the Three Lions achieved, or most other football teams since the sport's inception, yet Adams' feats to date still rank highly. He is, after all, two years younger than Phillips was at the Euros, and unlike the local boy already had big league and Champions League experience on his CV when he arrived at Elland Road.

This, for Victor Orta in particular, is all good stuff, proof that the player he managed to unite with Jesse Marsch was worth every penny of the £20m and probably more besides. The downside of course is that the better Adams' story becomes, the further the familiarity will stretch and that has already crept in - thanks very much to ex-Bolton midfielder Stu Holden. "If he finishes the Premier League season the way he started it, he’ll be off to a top level Champions League team. What a player," Tweeted the Fox Soccer analyst, firing the starter pistol on a narrative Leeds would like even less than the Gakpo one.

It is early for such talk but in all honesty, it's always going to come at some point when a player excels. When Phillips did so for England, an inevitability began to engulf him so it can be no surprise that Adams doing so against England could prompt such talk from Holden and others. Suddenly, that five-year contract they got the American to sign has a real look of foresight about it. But for now the Adams story is very much a feelgood one at Elland Road, where they want it to go on and on - at least a little longer than the one who got away's.