USMNT star Tyler Adams explains why he is the Dennis Rodman of football & reveals the former Thierry Henry team-mate that made him captain material

The United States international midfielder is not the most outspoken or controversial of characters, but he sees similarities between his sporting mindset and that of NBA legend Rodman. The former Chicago Bulls star was a divisive presence throughout his colourful career, but there was never any doubting his ability or his capability to contribute significantly to a winning cause.

Adams is hoping to make a similar impact at Bournemouth after joining them from Leeds, and has told the club’s official media channels of why he is cut from the same cloth as Rodman – whose daughter, Trinity, is now an established member of the USWNT set-up: “He wasn't the type of player that you want to go up against, but he’s definitely the type of guy that you want on your team.”

Adams captained the USMNT at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and has said when asked to pick out the leadership role models that inspired him to become a talismanic skipper: “In the past, the guys that I played with – Bradley Wright-Phillips was a huge one for me. He was obviously a guy that had the experience of playing in the Premier League, playing in the Championship and had a lot of success in MLS. He was a guy that took me under his wing, and when you can lean on someone like that – who has played with legends like Thierry Henry, whose dad is Ian Wright, he has a lot of successful people in his background. It is easy to say ‘this is a guy I want to be like’.”

Adams started out with the New York Red Bulls in MLS, before then moving to Germany at RB Leipzig and eventually on to the Premier League at Leeds – with a big-money summer transfer away from Elland Road allowing him to remain in the English top-flight.