Paul Warne‘s men had a major issue centrally. Max Bird and Conor Hourihane – the usual midfield pairing – could stand up to the technical attributes required in League One but they were lacking physically.
Warne craved a ball-winning midfielder to slot into their engine room and boost their chances of winning the battles centrally.
Adams answered his managers’ prayers with his impact on his Derby side going beyond any supporters’ wildest dreams.
The 28-year-old has starred as a ball-winning machine in front of the defence, with his statistics underlining his impact, as per Sofascore.
- 13 games
- 7 clean sheets
- 2.8 tackles per game
- 4.5 balls recovered per game
- 7.5 (61%) duels won
- 1.3 clearances per game
It is clear that, while Adams will attract a lot of attention this summer, he has found a place he can call home in Derbyshire and the fans are desperate for him to stay.
Ebou Adams drops verdict on Derby County future
Following a difficult time at Cardiff, starting just three times in the Championship this term, Adams has felt the love at Derby.
The Gambian star has battled several injury problems, yet he hasn’t let that deter him from showing his best form in Derbyshire.
Arguably playing the best football of his career, Adams has praised the club for how welcome they’ve made him and his family feel, perhaps hinting at him wanting to stay permanently.
“Do you know what, I’m enjoying it every single day. I come home late and my missus will have a go at me for doing it,” Adams told BBC Radio Derby.
“It’s part of having a good training session, community, that’s massive. You want to come into a workplace every day being excited to come into work hard and this club gives you that and like you said, I’m doing well at the minute but I have to continue doing it and that’s the hardest thing in football.
“I’m enjoying it, but the last six months or year and a half have been really tough. I’ve probably had the weirdest injuries and then obviously come here and no one knows how I am as a player but that’s for me to back myself.
“I can only thank Derby for bringing me here, it’s such a massive thing and I want to repay it back. Hopefully, I can carry on what I’m doing.”
Derby County’s best loan signings
In terms of his impact in Derbyshire, Adams has to rank high on the list of loan signings.
During Frank Lampard’s tenure, the Rams pulled off a plethora of quality loan signings, including Harry Wilson, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori.
That trio helped drive Derby into the Championship play-off final in 2018/19, losing to Aston Villa in the final, but cementing their name onto a list of successful loanees.
If Derby secure promotion to the Championship this term, they owe a lot of that success to the arrival of Adams who has been quintessential with his Man of the Match displays, including the thunder strike that saw off Blackpool last month.
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