Jayden 'Grootman' Adams gives Sundowns control, says former captain Hlompho Kekana

Perhaps it has everything to do with his sleek shaven look, but Jayden Adams is certainly turning heads ever since he went "cheeskop".

The Mamelodi Sundowns and Bafana Bafana midfielder has been in red-hot form over the past month - both for club and country - and is proving to be an integral member of both teams’ fortunes with Sundowns involved in hotly-contested Betway Premiership tussle with Orlando Pirates and a looming CAF Champions League semifinal, while the national team are in their final preparations for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in North America.

It is almost a renaissance of sorts after Adams struggled initially after his move from his hometown club, Stellenbosch FC, up to the nation’s capital. 

But now Adams is earning the respect of none other than Masawandana legend and former club captain Hlompho Kekana. He has also earned the nickname "Grootman" from the Sundowns fans.

Speaking on the Mamelodi Sundowns Pitchside Podcast, Kekana only had words of high praise for Adams.

“As a midfielder in a big team, you have to be reliable, not only when we have the ball but even when we don’t have the ball. You have to be a player who will always be there when we want to escape,” Kekana said.

“One thing that sets him apart from the rest of the midfielders in the Premier Soccer League is that he knows how to use the ball. He passes well; he passes with the right pace and technique.

"You must watch him. Clean passes all the time, safe passes all the time. When you don’t know your football very well, you will think he is just passing sideways, backwards, or forward," he added.

Kekana, who holds the honour of leading Mamelodi Sundowns to still their only ever CAF Champions League title 10 years ago now, highlighted the qualities Adams brings to the Brazilians.

“He gives us that control. We, as Sundowns, play with the ball a lot. You need that kind of player. When Marcelo Allende comes, he is always on the ball, and you need such a player because the strikers will always give you the run,” Kekana said.

“Sometimes they don’t get it. But it’s because once they break the line, you must come back to the position where they say, ‘We are ready now.’ But you cannot be busy with the ball. You need to pass and rotate the ball. That’s where Sundowns look good when they play like that. It’s control. 

“To see that we are in control, you must look at those two-metre passes, four-metre passes, and Jayden brings that to the Mamelodi Sundowns line-up. He is not panicking. He is like a Riva [Coetzee] kind of player, where in build-up you can have him, and when you advance in the midfield and consolidate, you can have him."

The former Brazilians skipper believes there is even more to come from Adams, if only he can be more clinical in the final third.

“He needs to impose himself in that regard. I don't know whether he's got the technique to pass the back of the net, but I know he can drive it from one side to another. If you have that, you can have a drive to the goalkeeper …  easy. 

“He's also one of the best jumpers in the league and he's got that leap. He's got a timing of jumping and heading the ball.

“I saw him in his days at Stellenbosch. If you track him, you'll realize that he was their best header of the ball. In the Bafana team, you must see him, he's got that Bradley Grobler thing where he allows a striker or a midfielder to jump first and he comes and heads the ball.

“How he does that? It goes back to timing, like I said he's just a midfielder that has got that intelligence. He just needs to impose himself even more because I believe he's got what it takes. He is amazing.”