The Liga champions had already moved before the World Cup to sign England winger Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United, and have been heavily linked with a move to Julian Alvarez of Atletico Madrid and Argentina. However, during the World Cup, it was reported that not only were Barcelona interested in Adeyemi, but actually that the deal has more or less been completed – the club were just waiting for high-ranking officials to return from the US after Spain’s victory in the 2026 World Cup final. The deal was announced four days after that showpiece, with Barcelona confirming his arrival on a five-year contract.
The 24-year-old leaves Germany after four years with Dortmund, having joined in the summer when the Bundesliga outfit sold Erling Haaland to Manchester City.
With the help of our friends from Germany and Spain, as well Opta, we’ve tried to unpick exactly why this move has happened.
A surprise to everyone
The first thing to note in our discussions is the recurring theme of surprise about this move, on both sides.
“The signing of Adeyemi has come as a surprise in Spain,” explains Guillermo Marcos from Eurosport Spain.
“Just like with Gordon, his name hadn’t been mentioned in the media until shortly before the deal was finalised, making it completely unexpected.”
Tom Mueller of Eurosport Germany echoes what Marcos says: “I think ‘surprising’ is about right.
“It’s always questionable when a player who hasn’t established himself at a club like Dortmund and has had inconsistent performances moves to an even bigger club.
“However, Adeyemi was at a dead end at Dortmund, so leaving definitely made sense. He has huge potential—maybe Hansi Flick can (finally) help him reach his full potential.”
As Mueller touches upon, Adeyemi leaves Dortmund with a sense of “what if”. As we mentioned earlier, he was signed in the summer that Haaland left the club as one of the best players in the world.
It was never expected that Adeyemi would replace Haaland and his output, but he was expected to be the next big Dortmund development project, following Haaland’s path in coming from RB Salzburg in Austria.
However, things never quite clicked for Adeyemi and he leaves having never scored more than seven goals in a Bundesliga season.
As Marcos points out: “There is some concern in Barcelona amongst the fans regarding the signing due to his inconsistency while with Dortmund.”
You can see in the data below, Adeyemi has been solid during his time in Germany, but it’s never been anything more than that.
Karim Adeyemi’s goals and assists in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund
Image credit: TNT Sports
Can Flick unlock Adeyemi?
So, can Barcelona manager Flick be the one to bring the best out of Adeyemi? The former Bayern Munich and Germany coach feels like the key, as Marcos points out.
He added: “According to reports published here in Spain, Flick played a significant role in the signing, as he did with Gordon, and it wasn’t a direct decision by the sporting director, Deco, but rather a request from the German coach.
“From the Barcelona fans, there is complete confidence in Flick, and it is expected that [Adeyemi] will fit in well with the team, as has happened before with other players whose futures were uncertain, such as Joao Cancelo.”
Flick was the manager who gave Adeyemi his debut with the German national team, and clearly must have a favourable view of the forward if he, as the reports suggest, is the one pushing for this move.
However, despite this, Mueller has his doubts as to whether Adeyemi will ever be able to fulfil his immense potential.
WATCH: Adeyemi stunner draws Dortmund level at 3-3 on aggregate in thrilling tie with Atalanta
Video credit: TNT Sports
“Big question, difficult to answer…” he said. “I’m leaning toward him always being an inconsistent player.
“In recent years, he has been the prime example of inconsistency, regardless of who the coach was. At times, he shows he’s truly world-class, and then he completely disappears for several weeks.
“He needs the right coach, the right system, the unwavering trust. I’m quite sure Flick has a plan and thinks he can unleash him. But I’m not sure if this will happen in Barcelona (or ever).”
Where does Adeyemi fit?
So where does Adeyemi fit in the current Barcelona set-up? The team currently has Gordon, Ferran Torres, Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Roony Bardghji as their options in the wide and central attacking areas, albeit Torres, Bardghji and Raphinha have all been linked with moves away.
Flick also has Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez as the two options in the No. 10 role.
Let’s dig into some numbers first. We’ve included the numbers for Adeyemi over his past two seasons at Dortmund across all competitions, and we’ll compare them to the numbers from Gordon, Torres, Raphinha and Yamal for just last season, as well as Marcus Rashford.
Adeyemi struggles compared to Yamal and Raphinha here, but he does track more favourably with Rashford and Torres. Remember that.
Finishing stats of Barcelona attackers
Image credit: TNT Sports
It is also a similar story with creative stats, but things get extremely interesting when we start to look at figures related to ball-carrying.
Carrying and other stats for Barcelona attackers
Image credit: TNT Sports
What we learn here – aside from the fact that Lamine Yamal is truly special (if you didn’t know that already) is that Adeyemi’s ability to get past a player and get into the box might be one of the key aspects of his game that Flick is looking at.
Adeyemi is not a perfect player, by any stretch of the imagination, but he posseses a genuinely unique skill set that is important in the way Barcelona are building their attack.
Both Rashford and Torres were extremely important last season, even though they were not regular starters, and Adeyemi should see regular minutes at the very least.
It’s also worth discussing the actual position that Adeyemi will play. Marcos said: “Adeyemi’s position remains unclear.
“He doesn’t seem likely to be a starter, but the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Rashford, along with the uncertainty surrounding the futures of Torres, Barghji, and even Raphinha, who has received offers from Saudi Arabia, mean that Barcelona needs attacking players who can be important.
“Flick wants versatility in all three attacking positions, and for that reason, he’s a good option, as is Anthony Gordon.”
A report from Catalan outlet Mundo Deportivo doubled down on what Marcos believes, namely that the signings of Adeyemi and Gordon, as well as the pursuit of Alvarez, shows that Flick is looking for players who can play in more than one position.
Mueller added: “Adeyemi’s best performances came as a striker in a system with two strikers.
“Even though he is incredibly fast, he is not a typical winger. He does not love to stick to the sideline, he does not deliver the best crosses.
“He needs a direct path to the goal, has a strong finish. He moves well near the offside line and needs someone to send him deep.
“Then he can do the most damage. And on the counterattack, of course. But I also do not see him as a clear No. 9.”
It is evident that in the way Flick plays with a 4-2-3-1 that Adeyemi will not get the chance to play in a partnership up front.
However, it is worth finishing with this thought: if Flick is aiming for a more fluid attacking set-up and players moving around, even during a game, then it could open up larger avenues for Adeyemi to attack with his pace.
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