Perhaps Karim Adeyemi’s move to Barcelona should not come as a surprise even if usurping Lamine Yamal as the team’s star left-footed right-winger is impossible. After all, it was Hansi Flick, Barca’s head coach, who gave Adeyemi his debut for Germany.
The hope is that his old coach can spark something new in a player whose vast potential has been obvious for years but is yet to truly explode. This is an opportunity for Adeyemi to become the player that Flick and many others have long suspected he could be.
He was still a teenager with Red Bull Salzburg when Flick first picked him. But Adeyemi is only 24 now. If it feels like he has been around far longer it is because he had almost 100 games for Salzburg even before making the move to Borussia Dortmund in 2022.
Karim Adeyemi during his official presentation as FC Barcelona’s new player
He was playing for Salzburg’s feeder team Liefering even before that, debuting at the age of 16. Speaking to Adeyemi about this during his time at Dortmund, he saw it as the ideal schooling. “For me, it was the best move that I could do,” he told Sky Sports.
He explained: “The most important thing for a young guy is to play. They have a second team who play against adults. I played in the second league as a 16-year-old, a lot of games. I adapted to men’s football and this is what is important for a young player.”
Karim Adeyemi had his moments during four years at Borussia Dortmund
There have been plenty of highlights since then. As one of those fortunate enough to be inside the Westfalenstadion when he raced clear to score a Champions League winner against Chelsea in 2023, it is fair to say that Adeyemi’s pace leaves an impression.
He was clocked at a Bundesliga-high 36.65 kilometres per hour in that debut season. His reply when speaking to him about whether he was the fastest around was emphatic. “Yes, I am very confident with that.” Is anyone close? “Close, maybe. But not faster.”
The speed stats have tailed off slightly, although Adeyemi has still ranked among the fastest dozen Bundesliga players in each of the past two seasons. The bigger problem was that he was not quite able to evolve beyond that role of impact player at Dortmund.
Karim Adeyemi’s heat map and shot map in his Bundesliga career with Borussia Dortmund
There were moments. Adeyemi came on as a substitute to score a wonderful goal against Atalanta in the Champions League. He scored home and away against Stuttgart – both off the bench. The latter turned out to be his final goal in a Dortmund shirt.
But there has been criticism too. That was particularly the case in December when Adeyemi was substituted on the hour against Borussia Monchengladbach and reacted badly. Former Germany international Markus Babbel publicly questioned his mentality.
Within Dortmund, there are those who defend him. He is a popular figure with staff past and present. Speaking to Alex Clapham, their former set-piece coach, he saw Adeyemi as a particular favourite. “He is an incredible guy. What a character,” he told Sky Sports.
“As a coach, he probably taught me more than anybody because I had to work with him in a different way. It probably took me until Christmas of the first season to understand that.” Adeyemi responded better to one-on-ones. “It is the little chats sometimes.”
It was Hansi Flick who gave Karim Adeyemi his Germany debut in 2021
Flick will understand that better than anyone. And this is why the move to Barcelona could unlock more from the player. This is a coach who has believed in his talent from a young age and always championed him. It is great for Adeyemi. But what about Barca?
It might seem incongruous given the scale of the club, but the expectation levels might be a little lower. At Dortmund, there was some frustration that Adeyemi did not grow into the role of the team’s star player. That is clearly not the assignment at Camp Nou.
Barcelona do not need someone to lead the attack. This is a team that scored 95 goals in LaLiga last season, 18 more than Real Madrid. What they need is someone who can impact off the bench, cover across a range of different positions, make a contribution.
Karim Adeyemi’s minutes by position for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga
“I can play in almost any position in the offensive line,” Adeyemi told Sky Sports back in that 2023 interview. Since then, he has operated on both flanks and occasionally in the centre. Marcus Rashford did a similar job last season. There will certainly be minutes for him.
In fact, his role could be really important for Barcelona. Consider the template set by Paris Saint-Germain. The former Barca player Ousmane Dembele started only 11 games in Ligue 1 last season. He actually started as many games in the Champions League.
Perhaps it is easier to load the emphasis on European commitments in France than Spain but compare that to Lamine Yamal, who played 26 games from the start in La Liga last season. That was more than any midfielder or attacker in the Barcelona squad.
The chance to rest the star man, after a World Cup in which he went all the way with Spain while Adeyemi was omitted from Germany’s campaign, is one that Flick will need to take when and where he can. He will want to be able to do so with minimal disruption.
Flick loves having pace in wide areas. Barcelona still play a possession game under him. Indeed, they averaged 69 per cent possession in La Liga last season, the highest in Europe’s five major leagues – even ahead of Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
But Flick needs his team to have that speed to go with it. It is this that helps Barcelona break teams down, providing the counter-attacking threat as well as the domination of the ball. Adeyemi suits that style of play. He is someone who can make things happen.
Asking him how he saw his game, he said: “I think [my job is] to get on the nerves of the defenders all the time with one-against-one or runs behind the defenders. Being there where the defender cannot see me. Getting assists, getting goals. This, I think, is my game.”
Adeyemi is at a crossroads in his career now. Raphinha was already 25 when he moved to Barcelona from Leeds and changed perspectives about his potential ceiling. Adeyemi is younger. With the right coach, at the right club, the sky is still the limit for him.
