England comes first for wanted man

Ilkeston FC’s Che Adams has turned down the chance to launch his international career with Antigua Barbuda in the CFU Caribbean Cup Championship.

The 18-year-old EVO-STIK League midfielder was invited to join the island nation's squad in Trinidad for matches against St Lucia, Dominican Republic and Trinidad & Tobago this month. However, Adams, whose father is Antiguan, is already on the radar of England C and has decided to keep his options open with the possibility of the call coming from the Three Lions.

Robins boss Kevin Wilson: "It’s a tough decision for a young boy to make and clearly Che is flattered that Antigua Barbuda want him to play for them. But we’ve chatted it through and his feeling is that he would rather wait and see how his career progresses."

Leicester-born Adams, who took his tally of ‘assists’ to 10 for this season when he sets up Saturday’s two match-winning goals against Rushall Olympic, is one of the EVO-STIK League's hottest properties and is currently being trailed by numerous clubs.

And the talented youngster, who was called up last month for an England C training camp at St George’s Park, is on stand-by for next week’s International Challenge Trophy fixture against Turkey in Istanbul.

Added Wilson: "There’s a lot going on with Che at the moment but he just needs to keep doing exactly what he’s done since he joined us as a scholar two years ago. He’s a tremendous young prospect who is getting better all the time and it would be a shame if his head gets turned by outside influences."

Adams’ decision is also a big boost for the Premier Division's Robins because it means he will be available for Tuesday's clash at Barwell when they bid to make it four wins on the trot. His side are free from injury problems and Wilson admits that his biggest headache now is whether or not to change a winning team and play on-loan Tyrell Waite from the start.

He said: "It’s an important game for us tomorrow. Everyone is looking towards the FA Cup at Stockport County on Saturday but I’m desperate to see us keep the winning run going and make sure we stay firmly in the mix at the top of the EVO-STIK League's Premier Division."

Image courtesy of Craig Lamont/Ilkeston FC

Follow us: @evostikleague on Twitter | The NPL group on Facebook by clicking here: www.facebook.com/groups/TheNPL/