"£7m-£8m" - Claim made on Ebou Adams' price to leave Derby County | OneFootball

FLW's Derby County Fan Pundit reveals how much money could tempt the Rams to sell Ebou Adams

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Derby County captain Ebou Adams has emerged on the radar of several unnamed Championship rivals, as per journalist Pete O'Rourke, after he bossed virtually every defensive metric going last season - he was top of the list for tackles won (99) and duels won (352).

BBC Radio Derby's Senior Sports Journalist, Dominic Dietrich, took to X and explained there's "nothing in it" from Derby's perspective, noting the fact Adam's has two years left on his current deal.

Adams moved to the East Midlands permanently last summer - after coming up trumps during a loan spell in the second-half of the 23/24 season from Cardiff City. Then-manager Paul Warne revealed how the Rams had to initialy be "coy" in their attempts to sign him.

Ebou Adams "best in the Championship" at what he does

With this in mind, FLW spoke with their Rams Fan Pundit, Shaun Woodward, who delivered a no-nonsense verdict on why the Gambian international is irreplaecable - and a claim on how much money could tempt Derby to sell.

"This is a really difficult one for me because like all Derby fans, we absolutely adore Ebou Adams, he’s what all the fans want to see out on that pitch he represents the fans, he gives his absolute all for the club every single minute of every single game, Woodward told FLW.

"The stats don’t lie, last season I think he covered more ground than any other player in the Championship, got the most interceptions, the most tackles, he also scored some really important goals for us, he was rightly made captain as well and he’s just an absolute machine in that midfield,"

Out of the 44 second-tier matches Adams featured in, he started 42, scoring six goals and managing one assist in the process.

Adams was described by head-coach John Eustace as someone "who leads by example", after the 29-year-old was quickly made Rams captain when Eustace came in.

"He is the best at what he does in the Championship, so any club would be lucky to have him and I can understand why there would be interest in him because he would make any club better in this league.To think he was fifth-choice at Cardiff, the mind boggles really I mean that’s unbelievable," Woodward continued.

How much it could take for Derby to consider selling Ebou Adams

Woodward was mature in his words when talking about the situation from a business point-of-view, acknowledging that Adams had very minimal Championship experience before the 24/25 campaign.

"But before last season he’d only played 11 games in the Championship in his whole career, and he’s nearly 30, so when you look at it from a business perspective, the fact he only cost us half a million pounds, he’s just had the most amazing season of his career, however he’s nearly 30 and if you get silly money for him you’d have to consider letting him go," Woodward added.

"I don’t think any of us want him to go because I can't imagine Derby without Ebou Adams in the middle, he makes us tick, he is Mr Derby County really, so without him we’d nowhere near be the same side but if a club offers silly money you’ve got to listen to that."

Recent second-tier deals maybe provide a reference frame. Leeds United banked a reported £8.4m when selling 28-year-old Glen Kamara to Ligue 1 outfit Rennes in 2024.

"Every player does have their price, and football moves on very quickly, but I would be looking - if we had to sell him - at £7m-£8m, it might sound silly but that’s the kind of price I think it would have to be to accept because i don’t think anyone at Derby wants him to go.”

Adams embodies everything Pride Park wants in a captain, so it's hard not to agree with Woodward's verdict on that only silly money should be offered before the club even consider letting him go.

Of course, the likelihood of a club even attempting to make a bid following the report is probably non-existent as Dietrich mentioned, but Ebou Adams is perhaps the most invaluable player the Rams have had in years.