Rising through the academy ranks of the New York Red Bulls, then progressing to RB Leipzig, Leeds United, and now Bournemouth—Tyler Adams‘ career path has been anything but ordinary. For the talented midfielder, the script couldn’t have been written much better—or could it? Allegedly, his current USMNT boss, Mauricio Pochettino, considered signing Adams for Chelsea during his club managerial days. But Charlie Davies seems ‘happy that he is in a good place’ at Bournemouth.

The USMNT icon is one of the firm believers in the ‘it’s better to be a regular at a small club rather than being a benchwarmer at a big-name club‘ principle. Not to forget that he remains upset over Matt Turner for not starting a single game for Crystal Palace this season and even gave the goalie an F recently. But coming back to Adams, Davies is happy that after exiting Leeds last year, the star midfielder never opted for a move to Chelsea for his own sake.

“You had all these big names [there]. It didn’t make sense for him to go to Chelsea at that time,” began Davies on the latest podcast episode of CBS Sports’ Call It What You Want segment. “Not to say he would have eventually shined through and been one of the stars in the team or at least been a cause of the rotation. But I’m glad he went to Bournemouth, I think when he’s fit, he’s a starter on that team.”

While fellow co-host and former American defender Jimmy Conrad suggested that Adams potentially partnering with current Blues star Moisés Caicedo would have looked good, Davies remained undeterred, insisting that Adams would have become the victim of constant rotation at Stamford Bridge—albeit it had been under Pochettino last year or any other manager.

“I think he made the right choice in the end,” added the former striker, insisting Tyler is being put in the right positions and right situations at the Cherries. “I’m happy the way Tyler Adams has developed. I’m happy that he is in a good place at Bournemouth, a solid club with a good coach. Let’s go,” concluded Davies.

At least someone gets the brownie points for making the right domestic decisions. However, Pochettino, who coincidentally got a chance to manage Adams at the national camp, rather wants to see some more ‘progression‘ from the American stalwart.

Mauricio Pochettino urged Tyler Adams to remain ‘consistent‘ at Bournemouth!

Many of you must have noticed Tyler Adams wasn’t called up by Mauricio Pochettino for the recent CONCACAF Nations League semifinal doubleheader vs Jamaica. The surprise was even more pronounced considering the versatile player had already recovered from his injury and made a club appearance. While leaving him out was a choice Pochettino had to make, it doesn’t diminish his high regard for Adams. “I consider him a very important player for the future of this team,” he said earlier.

“But the most important thing now is to see the progression. For us, we were so happy to see his evolution but at the same time, we know very well that we need to look after him if we want to have him in the best condition for the 2026 [World Cup],” added the 52-year-old tactician. Additionally, “Training properly and see if he can be consistent in his club,” is the only smartest approach that Pochettino wants Adams to focus on.

So it looks like, Tyler Adams has some more work to do at Bournemouth!