‘He has extreme speed’ – Chelsea target Adeyemi backed to reach the top

Paul Macdonald

• Updated: 20 May 2021 11:26 BST
• 4 min read

Karim Adeyemi has been backed to reach the top of the game and become an international star for Germany.

The Red Bull Salzburg forward has a growing reputation and the club are convinced they have signed a player with huge potential.

READ MORE: Why Adeyemi rejected Chelsea

Adeyemi has previously revealed the reasons why he snubbed the chance to join Chelsea as he continues to be linked to big clubs.

The attacker was on the books of Bayern Munich as a child.

Since signing for Salzburg he has been linked with the German champions as well as Barcelona, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Adeyemi joined Salzburg as a 16-year-old in 2018.

Now 19, he is just the latest in a long line of exciting youngsters to be developed by the club.

Adeyemi is following on from the likes of Erling Haaland, Sadio Mane and Dominic Szoboszlai.

He scored his first Champions League goal in December against Lokomotiv Moscow.

It was a fine individual strike that saw him run in on goal from the halfway line.

He opted against joining Chelsea to pursue first-team football and Salzburg sporting director Christoph Freund is excited by his qualities.

“Karim has great potential and exceptional weapons, with his speed and scoring ability,” Freund said to Goal after Adeyemi was named among the top wonderkids in world football.

“If he continues to really step on the gas and is spared injuries, I believe he can have a really great international career.

“The next step, however, is for him to really take off with us in Salzburg in the coming months.”

‘Adeyemi has extreme speed’

After leaving Bayern, Adeyemi developed with lower-league German club Unterhaching before signing for the Austrian champions.

He was loaned out to FC Liefering after joining but is now part of the first-team squad at Salzburg.

Freund added: “We followed Karim very closely in the junior teams of Unterhaching and the German junior national teams.

“He is a type of player whose qualities fit our style of football perfectly.

“He is a difference-making player.

“With his extreme speed, he was classified by our scouting department as a perfect Red Bull Salzburg player, which has been confirmed.

“He used his special quality, namely his speed and his carefree nature, to score his first goal in the Champions League.

“You could really see the sparkle in his eyes all evening. I don’t think he was able to sleep much the night after the game!”