‘Not on our Christmas card list!’ - How USMNT star Tyler Adams upset Leeds when pushing for £23m transfer to Bournemouth

The United States international midfielder was among those at Elland Road to push for a move elsewhere after suffering relegation out of the Premier League. Adams missed the end of the 2022-23 campaign through injury, but he was not prepared to hang around and help to put things right.

Adams eventually completed a £23 million ($29m) transfer to Bournemouth, and has since been joined at the Vitality Stadium by Whites colleague Luis Sinisterra after his loan switch to the south coast. Leeds were reluctant to part with either player, but saw their hand forced.

Kinnear has told The Square Ball when asked if he would have preferred to keep Adams and Sinisterra and why they were moved on: “No, based on their desire to leave. I think you can voice your desire to leave, but you need to be professional in the interim. You need to remember who you’re contracted to and the value of that contract. I think you need to approach that through discussion and mutual agreement, rather than the avenues that they pursued. Ultimately I have to respect their decisions, but I don’t think it’s the way to behave to a club that has really looked after you and continues to look after you and was offering you fantastic alternatives to remain at the club. There were players who were perhaps led by their agents to employ tactics which will mean they’re not on our Christmas card list.”

Adams, who captained the USMNT at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, took in 26 appearances for Leeds on the back of his £20m ($25m) transfer from RB Leipzig – with no goals recorded prior to picking up an untimely hamstring injury in March.