Joseph Anthony Adams (born 13 February 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. A graduate of the Bury academy, Adams made sporadic appearances during 18 months as a professional at the club and transferred to

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

in 2019. After years of exclusively B team football, he transferred to Dundalk in 2022. Following the 2022 season, Adams moved into

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

. He is a former Wales youth international.

Club career

Bury

A midfielder, Adams joined Bury at the age of seven. Having graduated through the club's academy, he made his first team debut as a substitute for

Adam Thompson Adam Lee Thompson (born 28 September 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Leyton Orient. A graduate of Watford's youth academy, he made his professional debut for Watford in 2010, and his senior international debut fo ...

after 72 minutes of a 3–2 League One defeat to Northampton Town on 14 April 2018. After making four further senior appearances, Adams signed a -year professional contract in December 2018. His progression was such that later that month, he was recognised by League Football Education for his football and academic progress. After remaining with the U18 team and making only one further senior appearance during the 2018–19 season, Adams elected to depart Gigg Lane in July 2019. He was voted the club's 2018–19 Young Player of the Year.

Brentford

On 19 July 2019, Adams transferred to the B team at Championship club

and signed a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He scored 18 goals in 65 B team appearances during years with the club and gained experience as a

right wing back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned ...

. Despite receiving a first team squad number during the 2019–20 season, Adams failed to win a call into a matchday squad. On 1 February 2021, Adams joined League Two club Grimsby Town on loan until the end of the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season. On his second appearance, in a league match versus Crawley Town on 25 February, Adams assisted Filipe Morais for the Mariners' opening goal and scored what proved to be the winner in a 2–1 victory. After four further appearances, the loan was terminated early on 9 April. Adams departed Brentford in January 2022.

Dundalk

In January 2022, Adams signed a one-year contract with

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

club Dundalk for an undisclosed fee. He made 34 appearances and scored one goal during the 2022 season, his only campaign with the club.

Non-League football

On 14 March 2023, Adams signed an undisclosed-length contract with National League North club Southport. He made 12 appearances during the remainder of the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season and was a part of the club's

Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy The Lancashire Football Association Challenge Trophy is an English football competition for senior non-league clubs who are members of the Lancashire County Football Association. The trophy was first played for in 1885, when it was known as the L ...

-winning squad. On 26 September 2023, Adams transferred to

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

Premier Division club Atherton Collieries. After three goals in 9 appearances, he transferred across the division to Warrington Rylands 1906. Adams ended the 2023–24 season with 12 appearances and five goals. In July 2024, Adams transferred back to Atherton Collieries, which had been relegated to the Northern Premier League First Division West in his absence. He made a further five appearances before departing in September 2024.

International career

Adams won 26 caps and scored seven goals for Wales at U17, U19,

U20 U20 or U-20 may refer to: Naval vessels * * , a sloop of the Royal Navy * , a submarine of the Austro-Hungarian Navy Other uses * Great truncated cuboctahedron * Meizu U20, a smartphone * Roland U-20, a synthesizer * Small nucleolar RNA SN ...

and U21 levels.

Career statistics

Honours

Southport *

: 2022–23 Individual * Bury Young Player of the Year: 2018–19

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Joe Welsh men's footballers English Football League players 2001 births Living people Bury F.C. players Men's association football midfielders Wales men's youth international footballers Brentford F.C. players Wales men's under-21 international footballers Grimsby Town F.C. players Footballers from Bolton Dundalk F.C. players League of Ireland players Southport F.C. players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players Atherton Collieries A.F.C. players Warrington Rylands 1906 F.C. players