Chelsea rivalled for Mudryk replacement: €40m bid made

Tom Weber

Updated: 18 Jan 2025 04:09 CST
4 min read

Napoli are rivalling Chelsea for the signing of Borussia Dortmund winger Karim Adeyemi, according to German media.

Both clubs are in the market for wide reinforcements. On Friday evening, PSG officially confirmed the €70 million signing of Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, which has forced the Serie A giants to act in the market - and they have money to spend now.

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The 2023 Scudetto winners have approached Man Utd for Alejandro Garnacho but were told that he would cost around the same as Kvaratskhelia. Napoli have also held talks with Edon Zhegrova, with whom they have already agreed personal terms, but his club Lille are blocking a transfer.

The third option on the Italian side's radar is Borussia Dortmund speedster Karim Adeyemi, who has also recently been linked with Chelsea again. The Blues are looking for a replacement for the provisionally suspended Mykhailo Mudryk and have also enquired about Garnacho.

Chelsea are said to be long-term admirers of Adeyemi but Napoli are proving to be the more active club in pursuit of him.

Napoli make Adeyemi bid

According to Sky Germany, Napoli have made a verbal €40 million offer for the 23-year-old wide player. However, both Adeyemi and Borussia Dortmund knocked back the approach.

Despite the Bundesliga giants' results crisis under Nuri Sahin, Adeyemi is not interested in a January move, while Dortmund don't want to sell him in the winter either.

That said, we likely haven't heard the last of this story, with Adeyemi set to become a sought-after commodity in the summer again. Last year, Juventus were vying for his signature and reportedly even received the green light from the player only for the deal to fall through.

Adeyemi has not set the world alight at Dortmund despite the early promise he showed at RB Salzburg and the German side may be open to a sale at the right price in the summer, depending on what happens with other in-demand players such as Jamie Gittens.