Leeds United man up against Christian Pulisic in yet another ‘Kalvin Phillips footsteps’ moment

Following a summer move from RB Leipzig, Adams has put together a fine start to life in the Premier League, settling in almost immediately on and off the pitch and quickly acclimatising to the English top flight. He carried that momentum into the World Cup, having been named captain of the side at just 23 years of age, and put together a string of impressive performances before the USMNT exited the tournament.

Adams’ leadership was seen in his form and in the press conferences, where he dealt well with a spiky line of questioning from an Iranian journalist, earning plaudits back home and in England.

And after a tremendous second half to 2022, the midfielder could get 2023 off to a flying start if he beats team-mates Matt Turner, Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream and Pulisic to the BioSteel Male Player of the Year award. Fans have been invited to vote HERE and that will count for 15 per cent of the finally tally, with the rest coming from National Team players, coaches, media, and other constituents.

The award nomination is yet another case of Adams’ early Leeds career mirroring the latter stages of Kalvin Phillips’ time at Elland Road. Leeds’ new central defensive midfielder, signed to replace Phillips, followed in the Manchester City man’s footsteps with a breakout major tournament showing and an ability to cover an incredible distance for his national team. Adams, like Phillips, won the acclaim of pundits and fellow professionals with his efforts and experienced a significant profile boost, with talk of a move to a side contesting European football not taking long to start up. The current Leeds star will hope to follow Phillips’ example even more closely, given the boy from Wortley went on to win the England Player of the Year award, thanks to the pivotal role he played for Gareth Southgate’s men at Euro 2020.

Adams was due to return to training at Thorp Arch this week after a holiday in Thailand, with the Whites taking on Real Sociedad in their second friendly of the World Cup break, at Elland Road.

Leeds boast another, far more tenuous link to US Soccer’s 2022 awards, with a nomination for Chipotle Young Male Player of the Year for Paxten Aaronson, younger brother of Whites attacker Brenden Aaronson, who like Adams joined in the summer and represented the club and his country at the World Cup. Paxten, 19, plays for MLS outfit Philadelphia Union but is soon to make a move to Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.