'Huge bonus to nation': Scotland star lifts lid on step into unknown

Che Adams took a step into the unknown this summer when he traded in the comfort zone of British football for Italy’s Serie A - but he is reaping the rewards of it.

Adams signed for Torino following the expiration of his contract with newly-promoted Premier League side Southampton. For a player who had spent his whole senior career in England, upping sticks at the age of 28 was a bold move.

Of course, he is following in the footsteps of some fellow Scotland players. Lewis Ferguson has excelled at Bologna, where Aaron Hickey also plied his trade. Josh Doig is with Sassuolo. And since going to Turin, Adams has been joined in Italian football by Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour following their big-money deadline-day transfers to Napoli.

Che Adams still has full belief in Scotland. | SNS Group

All this is viewed through a positive prism by Adams. “I think it just opens up your mind to experiencing different levels and different competitions,” the striker said. “I think that can help the nation because we've got a few boys now that are playing abroad. We're coming together now and bringing different ideas and different styles of play. Things like that.

“I think it's a huge bonus to the nation. What I've learned from moving abroad is it just makes you grow as a person as well, in terms of off the pitch, taking that challenge and being uncomfortable. I think that will only help you in life and in football.”

Adams has netted four times for Torino, who currently sit seventh in Serie A following a decent start to the season. They normally play a 3-5-2 formation, but the ex-Birmingham City hitman does see similarities between Il Toro and the Scotland national team.

"I think they like to play the ball forwards quickly,” Adams said of Torino’s approach. “That obviously gives the strikers and the forward players enough chances to create and score goals. I think between Scotland and Torino where I'm at, it's just the mentality in terms of not giving up anything easy and being hard to play against.

“I think that goes well in Italy because everything is so tactical and so defensively set up. I think the two go well together.”

Che Adams has scored four times for Torino this season. | Getty Images

Club football takes a back seat for a few more days, though. Adams is desperate to end Scotland’s poor run. The striker has not scored at Hampden for nearly three years - and netting in Tuesday night’s match against Portugal would be an opportune moment to end the malaise of one win in 15 matches. He came very close to forcing a late equaliser against Croatia on Saturday, only to be denied by VAR for offside.

“I think we've got a good enough group now to acknowledge when things are going bad and to put a positive spin on things,” said Adams. “So, the dressing room has been OK. We're just looking forward to now to putting things right tomorrow.

“We're working on things day in and day out to produce positive results. I think the games have been really positive. We've not got the rub of green, in some cases, like my one yard offside the other day.

“Things like that, small margins, just impact your whole mentality a lot. So tomorrow is another chance to come up against one of the best nations in the world, some would say, so we're looking forward to that.”