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Albert Adomah may be tearing it up in League Two for Walsall right now, but he was once a beloved Middlesbrough star. So much so, in fact, that the club tried to sign him a second time.
He’s an EFL journeyman and one of the oldest players still smashing it in the Football League today. In many ways, Albert Adomah is a real cult hero of the game.
Adomah’s goalscoring exploits and extravagant celebrations for Walsall are a source of weekly entertainment for fans and neutrals alike.
The 37-year-old wasn’t always strutting his stuff in League Two, though. Adomah has enjoyed the highs of Championship success and Premier League football, and EFL Analysis can exclusively reveal how he felt about his time with Middlesbrough.
Albert Adomah had no doubts about joining Middlesbrough
The iconic EFL veteran made an appearance on Beyond the Back Four, the podcast from GRV Media, and had plenty to say about his time on Teesside.
When asked how he felt about the move from Bristol City to Middlesbrough in 2013, Adomah said: “I had no apprehension. It was another opportunity to play in the Championship after Bristol City had been relegated. Boro coming in was good timing.
“Tony Mowbray knew about my wing play. It was a pleasure he signed me and I always said thanks to him for signing me. Without him, Boro fans wouldn’t know about Albert Adomah.
“Even now when I go back and play there, I get a great reception and it’s something that sticks with me. The Riverside was a stadium I’d see on TV so to play there was unreal.”
Adomah went on to make 143 appearances for Boro over a three year period. He scored 26 goals and added 19 assists. After a good run of form, Aston Villa came calling.
Middlesbrough came calling for Albert Adomah again
Touching on the decision to leave Boro behind and head to Villa Park, Adomah explained how it was a tough call, and admitted things didn’t exactly work out for him after moving.
He added: “As players we have to do what we’re told, or we might not get on with manager. I only managed to play 1.5 games in the Premier League.
“I knew Villa were after me and the time had come to move on. As a player, sometimes you just know. Contract talks hadn’t gone well and I had to make a decision to benefit myself and family, hence taking the step down to Championship level.
“Even with Villa after relegation, they wanted me and wanted to pay me more than they would in the Premier League. We worked hard to achieve Premier League promotion, but I didn’t get rewarded.”
Adomah also revealed something we didn’t know before. Turns out, he could have rejoined Middlesbrough, but that move never happened.
“Boro wanted me back and that tells you something,” he concluded.
Since then, Adomah has turned out for Nottingham Forest, Cardiff City, and QPR before joining Walsall last summer.