Borussia Dortmund moved quickly on Tuesday to announce the signing of Germany forward Karim Adeyemi from Austrian champions RB Salzburg following the news of Erling Haaland's impending move to Manchester City.
City and Dortmund confirmed on Tuesday afternoon an "agreement in principle" had been reached between the two clubs for the transfer of Norwegian striker Haaland, who will move to the Premier League champions at the end of the season for a reported £51.25 million ($63.15m) - the price of his release clause.
Soon after, Dortmund said 20-year-old Adeyemi had signed a five-year contract after completing a medical examination earlier in the day.
“Adeyemi is a highly talented, young German international who through his strong finishing and incredible pace will make a valuable addition to our attacking play,” Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said. “After the transfers of Niklas Süle and Nico Schlotterbeck, we are getting another very exciting player for next season.”
Sebastian Kehl, who will take over from Zorc next season, said Adeyemi was a Dortmund fan in his youth and that he decided to sign for the club despite “several offers from Europe’s top leagues”.
In a striking similarity to Haaland's career path, Adeyemi leads the Austrian Bundesliga with 19 goals, and has scored three times for Salzburg in the Champions League.
He made his Germany debut in a World Cup qualifier against Armenia and scored his first international goal last September.
However, Adeyemi won’t be expected to match Haaland’s impressive goals haul after making the same switch from Salzburg to Dortmund. The Norwegian striker scored 84 goals in 86 games across the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League since joining Dortmund in January 2020.
Haaland’s departure is the latest in what has become a Dortmund trend of attacking stars leaving the club. Robert Lewandowski left for Bayern Munich in 2014, Ousmane Dembele for Barcelona in 2017, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for Arsenal a year later, then Christian Pulisic for Chelsea in 2019 before Jadon Sancho switched to Manchester United last year.
The Munich-born Adeyemi came through the youth setups at Bayern Munich and SpVgg Unterhaching before joining Salzburg in 2018. He benefited from Patson Daka’s transfer to Leicester before the 2021/22 season to become an undisputed starter for Salzburg.
“It was quickly clear to me that I wanted to switch to Dortmund when I found out about the club’s interest,” Adeyemi said. “I deliberately signed for the long term because I’m convinced that we’ll be an exciting team that will be able to play for and win titles in the medium term.”
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