Charlie Adam is at the centre of today’s transfer speculation circus with Ian Holloway confirming that Blackpool have turned down bids for their skipper. The offers from Birmingham and Aston Villa and are thought to be in the region of £2.5 million; Sunderland are also thought to be an interested party.
Holloway reacted to the bids by confirming that Blackpool were under no pressure to sell their star asset…
“We’re a well-run club, we’ve got no reason to sell anyone, in fact we want to add in this window, not lose anyone.”
He did however also confirm that he has had talks with Adam only this morning and indicated that the player could move on if the money was right…
“It’s important to keep working with him [Adam] to achieve one of his ultimate goals, which is to play for one of the top four or five, or even six, clubs. We have got him for 18 months on his contract and if one of those top clubs I told him this morning come in then I might have to consider it, but they would have to offer the right amount of money for this club to move forward.”
Fantasy Managers will need to monitor the situation closely. There’s no doubt that Adam has adapted brilliantly the Premier League stage and, while his goal and assist returns have remained moderate (3 goals, 4 assists), Adam has stood out in Holloway’s side and dominated their Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Bonus Point returns as a result. The heartbeat of the team, Adam tops of the FPL Bonus rankings with a hugely impressive haul of 27. Whilst he remains at Bloomfield Road that total would seem likely to keep ticking away – a move in the January transfer window would likely disrupt that. Certainly if either Villa or Birmingham are successful with follow-up bids, you would expect Adam’s returns in terms of Bonus to take a dent, while his influence at set-plays could also diminish.
In the short-term, his Fantasy owners will be hoping that this latest speculation will not get in the way of Adam taking to the field for Blackpool’s second fixture of the Gameweek on Wednesday. The Scot will wear the Gameweek 22 armband for many Fantasy Managers when Blackpool take on Liverpool and, having returned another couple of Bonus in the defeat to Birmingham last week, hopes will be high for further profit. Adam was rested for Blackpool’s 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Southampton at the weekend.
