The American Kante replaces the real deal: Why USMNT captain Tyler Adams is a better fit for Chelsea than Christian Pulisic ever was

Funnily enough, Adams' first real moment in the spotlight, coincidentally, came against Chelsea.

It happened when he was just a teenager, a member of the New York Red Bulls' reserve team. Due to a scheduling mishap, the Red Bulls would have to field their reserves for a friendly against Chelsea as their first team would need to play in the Open Cup.

Enter Adams. The 16-year-old midfielder was the star of the show that day, scoring a header in the 69th minute as the Red Bulls stunned the Blues. A few months later, he signed his first-team contract, and it's only been up from there.

He eventually played his way to the Red Bulls' sister club in Leipzig, famously scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid in the 2019-20 Champions League quarterfinals. It wasn't his goals, though, but his defensive energy that earned him a big-money move to Leeds last season.

We all know what happened next: Leeds proved to be a total disaster. However, their real downfall didn't come until Adams' went down with a season-ending injury. Defensively, Leeds fell off a cliff once Adams was out of the line-up as they were banished to the Championship.

Several key players have departed the club this summer, with Adams being the most recent. And, of all of them, Adams may just have the highest potential, which is why Chelsea are now asking him to help replace arguably the best No.6 of a generation.

As the summer wore on, it became clear that Chelsea needed a midfielder or two; Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount all left the club, with only teenager Lesley Ukochukwu being brought in. Andrey Santos, a January signing, is in the team and could play after featuring prominently in preseason but, in reality, this is a team that was missing a few pieces.

For much of the summer, it looked like Moises Caicedo would be the answer. For months, the Blues were linked with the Brighton star, with it seemingly being a foregone conclusion that the Ecuadorian would arrive at Stamford Bridge to partner Enzo Fernandez for the next decade.

That was until Liverpool swooped in and beat Chelsea to Caicedo by paying Brighton a £110m ($140m), record-breaking transfer fee.

Instead, Chelsea have landed on something of a consolation prize in Adams, who comes at a significantly cheaper price than Caicedo. Adams, of course, doesn't quite have the potential of the soon-to-be-ex-Brighton star, who could very well become one of the best midfielders in the world.

Adams, though, is no slouch. Statistically, Adams wasn't far off of Caicedo defensively last season. While Caicedo led Premier League U-23 players in tackles and interceptions with 156, Adams was fourth with 124 despite missing a third of the season. The second player on that list, Declan Rice, just went for nine figures, just like Caicedo. The third player, Cheick Doucoure, would reportedly command nearly three times what Chelsea paid for Adams.

The point is this, the USMNT captain has plenty of qualities Chelsea are looking for, particularly after Kante's departure.

Even considering how much he slowed down in recent years, replacing Kante is no easy task. The Frenchman is a legitimate icon, with his all-energy approach to playing the defensive midfield position endearing him to fans all over the world.

So, when Kante left, the question soon became how Chelsea would replace him. With all of the attacking options in the Chelsea squad, how would they go about finding a player to do the dirty work?

And that's why they've signed Adams, a player who has been compared to Kante at various points in his career. Like Kante, Adams has a seemingly-endless motor and, like Kante, that motor is used almost exclusively to destroy. He may pop up with the odd goal, but Adams is no box-to-box star; he's an old-school, attack-destroying No.6.

"Growing up, when N’Golo Kante hit the scene, he was the player who changed the mould of how a No.6 should play the game," Adams toldThe Athletic in 2022. "It was no longer only the style of Sergio Busquets. Everyone wanted to be like him — and why wouldn’t they? — but I’m more like Kante than I am Busquets. So I was happy because players like this were finally getting the praise they deserve for doing the hard work and being the engine of the team.

"Not everything that Kante does is beautiful but you look at the end of the game and see how many duels and tackles he’s won and how many transition moments he stopped - that’s a huge benefit to teams, especially when you play an attacking style of football.

"Fabinho at Liverpool is another one. He does a little bit of everything. I like how well-rounded his game is and I want my game to be as well-rounded as possible."

The World Cup was perhaps the best example of Adams' role, as he was played behind his more attacking midfield team-mates in McKennie and Yunus Musah. While those two impacted the game all over the field, Adams was the defensive shield, snuffing out attack after attack. His best performance may have come against England, when the USMNT trio out-dueled England's midfield of Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice throughout the 0-0 draw.

That's what Chelsea can expect from Adams: destruction. While the forward players and more advanced midfielders go to work, Adams will play deep. It won't be pretty, but it'll be effective. Adams, in many ways, is the type of player all top teams need in their search for balance.

Just when the American fans thought they were out, Chelsea have pulled them back in.

Supporters of the USMNT were thrilled to see Pulisic leave Chelsea this summer, having struggled for consistent minutes under several managers during his time at the club. That time, of course, was headlined by a Champions League triumph, which Pulisic certainly contributed to, but the years since have had more bad than good.

Pulisic was very much a victim of the Chelsea way, which has only gone nuclear since Todd Boehly took over. Under Roman Abramovich, Chelsea spent big on any and every player the team needed; under Boehly, they're spending big even on players they don't.

That fact eventually doomed Pulisic's time at the club, as Chelsea brought in attacker after attacker. There's only room for so many wingers on the field and, eventually, Pulisic was totally squeezed out. The hope is that he'll now land on his feet at Milan, much like several other players have in recent years.

Adams' situation, though, is different than Pulisic's. While there's naturally pressure that comes with playing at Chelsea, it does seem that Adams has a role carved out for him heading into the season, even if he is occasionally supporting from the bench.

It may take some time for Adams to get acclimatised. He isn't 100 percent fit, having yet to really start training since his injury in the spring. Chelsea's move for him, though, does offer hope that he'll be ready soon. You wouldn't buy a player that won't be contributing, right?

So, once healthy, where does Adams fit? And how may Chelsea line up with him?

Well, with this club, you have to wait and see what happens before the end of the window. This is Chelsea, after all. For all we know, two more nine-figure midfielders could somehow come in, blowing this plan away even before it gets going.

But, assuming the Blues don't sign anyone else this summer, it's easy to see where Adams would fit in Mauricio Pochettino's XI.

Whether the ex-Spurs boss goes with a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1, there's a need for a defensive midfield specialist in that team. Fernandez is fantastic, but would be miscast in that role as it would prevent him from impacting in the ways he's best at. Ugochukwu and Santos are unproven commodities while Conor Gallagher is more box-to-box in nature.

This team, as assembled, has an Adams-sized hole right in midfield.

And that's what makes this different than Pulisic: need. Chelsea didn't need Pulisic, especially by the end. He was one of many, a single piece of a puzzle that somehow kept getting bigger and bigger. Adams, on the other hand, is a shrewd, under-the-radar signing that gives Chelsea something they need.

The signing of Adams may not excite Chelsea fans. They were holding out for Caicedo or someone similar, and an American 24-year-old midfielder isn't going to capture their imagination in the same way. Adams, though, isn't arriving to capture their imagination; he's arriving to play his part.

Adams may not necessarily excite Chelsea fans, but will likely make their team look a whole lot better. He's done that with every team he's been on since his breakthrough against the Blues as a teenager and, for a modest price of just £20m, Chelsea seem to have gotten themselves a good one.