Who is Karim Adeyemi? The German star signed by Dortmund

FT Desk

10 May 2022 17:28 BST
6 min read

Red Bull Salzburg striker Karim Adeyemi — © ProShots

It seems more evident than ever that if you can score goals for fun at RB Salzburg, you’re probably a top striker in the making.

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Sadio Mane, Erling Haaland and Patson Daka have all passed through the Austrian club and gone on to bigger things. And young forward Karim Adeyemi is the next star to come off the club’s production line and seal a big move elsewhere in Europe.

Whether it be in the Austrian Bundesliga, Champions League or Germany national team, Adeyemi has made a name for himself as one of the best youngsters around and as a result Dortmund have snapped him up following Haaland's departure to Manchester City.

So who is Adeyemi and how good can he get?

What position does Karim Adeyemi play in?

Although Adeyemi has at times been used as a wide player on the left wing due to his pace, the young star is undoubtedly a forward that prefers to play through the middle of the pitch with an ability to score and create goals in equal measure.

How good is Karim Adeyemi?

Born in Munich, Germany, Adeyemi worked his way up the TSV Forstenried youth system until local giants Bayern Munich picked him up in 2010. Adeyemi would still be at the club to this day, if not for a breakdown in contract negotiations that saw him leave for SpVgg Unterhaching, where he spent six years before Red Bull Salzburg swooped in for the player in 2018.

The forward spent his first season at the Austrian club out on loan at feeder club FC Liefering, where he hit the ground running with six goals and four assists in 20 games in the Austrian second flight.

Adeyemi spent the next two seasons jumping between loan moves at the aforementioned feed club and sporadic spells in RB Salzburg’s first team, where he amassed 22 goals and 30 assists for both clubs in just 74 games across all competitions.

A dream debut for 19-year-old Germany international Karim Adeyemi ⚽️🙌

One to watch? 🌟@DFB_Team | #WCQ pic.twitter.com/mEfKZlyU69
— European Qualifiers (@EURO2020) September 8, 2021

The 2021/22 season has seen the young striker firmly grasp his opportunity in the Salzburg first team, with 23 goals and eight assists in his 42 games, including a goal in the club’s Champions League qualifying round against Brondby, and three against Lille and Wolfsburg in the group stages.

He also won an incredible five penalties in the first two Champions League games of the 2021/22 season.

What clubs are interested in Karim Adeyemi?

According to Sky Germany, the young RB Salzburg talent primarily attracted the interest of Liverpool, as well as Real Madrid and Barcelona.

But, Borussia Dortmund stepped up their interest in 2022 and it became a formalit that he would join the club. On 10 May 2022, Dortmund announced the transfer of Adeyemi on a five-year contract.