Karim Adeyemi

The 20-year-old striker signed for Borussia Dortmund in July 2022. He previously played for Salzburg.

Three-time league and cup winner in Austria, not to mention top scorer last team: Karim Adeyemi won everything there was to win domestically in his first three years as a pro in Salzburg. In addition, he won the European Championship title with the Germany U21 national team in 2021.

In July 2022, the youngster turned the page on a new chapter: ''As a young boy I was fascinated by the Black & Yellows’ fast-paced football. That’s why, as soon as I heard Dortmund were interested in me, I knew I wanted to sign with BVB. I made the conscious decision to sign a long-term deal because I’m convinced that we’re going to form an exciting team, that with the support of the amazing fans in Dortmund will be able to compete for and win titles in the years to come,'' said the young Munich native after signing a contract which will keep him at the club until 30 June 2027. Sporting director Sebastian Kehl was delighted that Adeyemi ''decided to sign for Borussia Dortmund amidst several offers from Europe's top leagues. His speed and goal-scoring ability are impressive, and although Karim, at just 20 years old, is already at a very advanced stage in his development as a footballer and athlete, we still see enormous potential for more."

Karim Adeyemi was born in Munich on January 18, 2002 to a Nigerian father and a Romanian mother. In his childhood, he played basketball and volleyball as well as football. He joined the Bayern Munich U9s at eight years of age, but then returned to his first club, TSV Forstenried, two years later. From 2012 to 2018, he played for the youth team of SpVgg Unterhaching.

Perennial Austrian champions FC Salzburg then secured the services of the highly talented attacker, who was 16 years old at the time, for a handsome transfer fee. "I was a bit scared of leaving home, but I was also happy to take the next step. It was important for me not to move so far away from home. Munich is only an hour-and-a-half away from Salzburg," he said in an interview with kicker.

At the same time, he had the right to play for Salzburg's cooperation partner FC Liefering in the Austrian second division, where he immediately earned a regular place. In the 2019/20 season, Adeyemi also played in nine out of ten matches for FC Salzburg's U19s in the UEFA Youth League. On 20 February 2020, he made his senior debut as a substitute in a Europa League match away to Eintracht Frankfurt (a 4-1 loss). In 2021/22, he made his breakthrough, scoring five goals in his first three league matches, as well as in the all-important Champions League play-off first leg against Brøndby. With 19 goals in 29 games, he was crowned top scorer in the Austrian Bundesliga at the end of the season. In the UEFA Champions League, he netted three times in the group stage, helping Salzburg reach the last 16 in the competition for the first time. "I use my speed a lot," is how he describes his style of play. Living on the edge of the offside line, he always looks to benefit from his sprinting ability in the final third.

He bid farewell to Austria with 33 goals in 91 appearances in the top tier and 15 goals in 35 appearances in the second tier. In the UEFA Champions League, he scored four goals in eleven matches. He has won four caps for Germany at senior level (as of June 2022), the first coming on 5 September 2021, when he scored in stoppage time to make it 6-0 in a World Cup qualifier against Armenia. "It's crazy that I'm here," he said afterwards. Coach Hansi Flick remarked: "He displayed what we've already seen in Salzburg at the beginning of the season: he is a good finisher in the penalty area, he is brimming with confidence. Nevertheless, he still has a lot of work to do to be here.''