Haaland nears Man City transfer as Dortmund seal record deal for replacement

Suraj Radia
Suraj Radia
  • Updated: 22 Apr 2022 21:21 BST
  • 3 min read
Karim Adeyemi celebrates scoring in the Champions League against Wolfsburg
© ProShots

Erling Haaland's transfer to Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund appears a step closer as BVB have sealed the signing of Karim Adeyemi from Red Bull Salzburg.

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Adeyemi has long been admired by the German side and has been the club’s number one striking target due to the inevitable loss of Haaland this summer.

The move for Adeyemi is said to be imminent, with a deal having been agreed with Salzburg in the region of €37 million and a five-year contract of around €6m a year, according to Bild. All that is required is the officialisation of the move.

The transfer should pave the way for Haaland to complete his move to Man City with the English side due to activate the Norwegian’s €75m release clause.

Is Adeyemi the next Haaland?

Adeyemi is the latest player to come out of the Red Bull setup, following the likes of Haaland, Sadio Mane and Patson Daka, who previously made their names at the Austrian side.

The 20-year-old has scored 20 goals in all competitions this season and made his debut for the German national team last year.

Adeyemi is known for his blistering pace and was heavily linked with a move to Liverpool, but he was keen to return to Germany having left for Salzburg as a teenager.

Salzburg, meanwhile, have already secured the signing of Adeyemi’s replacement, agreeing a deal to bring Brazilian forward Fernando in from Shakhtar Donetsk.

With the fee for Adeyemi potentially rising as high as €41m after bonuses, it would represent a record outlay for Dortmund, highlighting the level of belief in the German.

RB Leipzig had allegedly made a better offer for Adeyemi in the hopes of signing him as a potential replacement for Christopher Nkunku, but the striker only had eyes for Dortmund.

Dortmund have allegedly been tracking Adeyemi since November last year having known that Haaland was set to leave this summer.

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