HARRY’S HAPPY ADAMS IS STAYING A BLUE
HARRY Redknapp insists that Birmingham are not a selling club after revealing the Blues rejected a £10m bid for Che Adams on the final day of the transfer window.
Redknapp refused to reveal where the offer for 21-year-old forward Adams came from, but ex-Birmingham boss Gary Rowett – now in charge of Derby – had a £3m bid for the former Sheffield United youngster turned down in early August.
Adams signed a new fiveyear contract with Birmingham this month and St Andrews boss Redknapp reckons that his club’s stance underlines their ambition to launch a successful promotion bid this season.
“We turned down £10m for Che on the transfer deadline. If it’s not public who it’s from, I wouldn’t want to talk about that, but we did have a bid of that figure,” he said.
“We didn’t want to sell him. We are building a team here. The owners are ambitious for this club.
“They are looking to build a team going forward that can get in the Premier League. That’s the ambition of the club.
“Che has to buy into that as well. It is a good club and, if he can help take us to where we want to go, that’s fantastic. It was a great offer, but we are not a selling club.
“They want to keep good players, build a squad around the good young players and build a team. It was never an option to sell him.”
Sheffield United won the race to sign the highlyrated Adams from Non-League Ilkeston in November 2014 and, after he scored 15 goals in 55 appearances for the Blades, Birmingham plumped for his services last summer in a deal potentially rising to £1.9m.
The Blues star hit a hattrick against Crawley in the Carabao Cup last month.