DORTMUND, Germany: Erling Haaland out, Karim Adeyemi in.
Borussia Dortmund completed a busy day of transfer activity on Tuesday by signing Germany forward Adeyemi from Austrian champions Salzburg to soften the blow of losing their star player to Manchester City.
Dortmund and City said earlier Tuesday that they had agreed in principle to a transfer for the 21-year-old Haaland on July 1, subject to the player agreeing personal terms.
The Bundesliga club then said the 20-year-old Adeyemi signed a contract through June 2027 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 Sule and Nico Schlotterbeck, we are getting another very exciting player for next season.”
Sebastian Kehl, who will take over from Zorc next season, noted that 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.”
Adeyemi leads the Austrian Bundesliga with 19 goals, and he has scored three 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.
He won’t be expected to match Haaland’s impressive goals haul after following the same path. Haaland scored 84 goals in 86 games across the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League since joining Dortmund from Salzburg in January 2020.
Haaland’s departure is just 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.”
