Ebou Adams

Midfielder Ebou Adams joined Derby County on a permanent basis in July 2024 following an impressive loan spell in the second half of the 2023/24 season.

Adams linked up with the Rams from Sky Bet Championship rivals Cardiff City for an undisclosed fee and penned a three-year deal until the summer of 2027.

He made 17 appearances in total, scoring once, and quickly became a fans’ favourite as Paul Warne’s side secured automatic promotion back to the second tier.

Adams came through the youth ranks at Dartford and made his professional debut in the latter stages of the 2013/14 season in the National League. He had a loan spell at Walton Casuals in the Isthmian Division One South during the following campaign before returning to his parent club to make four appearances in the closing weeks of the National League season.

Adams established himself in the Dartford side during 2015/16 in the National League South at the age of 18 and his impressive displays saw him attract interest from various clubs. Norwich City, then playing in the Premier League, signed Adams for what was a record fee for Dartford in February 2016 and he immediately joined the Canaries’ Under-21s squad.

He was a regular in Premier League 2 for the remainder of the season as well as in 2016/17 and he scored for Norwich’s Under-21s in a 4-1 home win against MK Dons in the EFL Trophy. A brief loan move to Braintree Town in the National League followed in late 2016, and the 2017/18 campaign saw him on the move again with loan spells at Shrewsbury Town in League One and Leyton Orient in the National League.

After leaving Norwich in the summer of 2018, Adams sealed a permanent move to Ebbsfleet United. He made 38 appearances and was a regular in the 2018/19 National League campaign.

His form resulted in a return to the EFL in the summer of 2019 with League Two Forest Green, with three successive years of regular game time following. He quickly established himself in the side in the COVID-19-curtailed 2019/20 season, as well as in 2020/21 as the Gloucestershire outfit missed out on promotion via the play-offs.

Adams impressed in 2021/22 as Forest Green won the League Two title. He was a driving force in the middle of the park and his displays saw him named in the division’s Team of the Season. After 121 appearances and ten goals during three years at The New Lawn, Adams made the step up to the Championship in the summer of 2022 when Cardiff signed him as a free agent.

Following his move to the Welsh capital, he made 13 appearances for the Bluebirds. He spent the second half of last season on loan with Derby and played a key role as the Rams earned automatic promotion from League One. He produced several fine performances in the middle of the park and scored the club’s Goal of the Season in a 1-0 home win over Blackpool.

Although he was born in England, Adams qualifies for Gambia through his grandparents. He made his international bow in 2017 and joined Derby on a permanent basis with 18 caps in total to his name. He has also been part of the Gambia squad for the 2021 and 2023 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, reaching the quarter-finals in the former.