(Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
In soccer, the top European clubs are always looking for the brightest young talent across the globe and one club that has become a factory for superstars is RB Salzburg in Austria. The club has produced sublime talents including Liverpool players Sadio Mane, and Naby Keita and more recently now Bayern Munich center-back Dayot Upamecano and Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland. However, in 2021 a new star is emerging and his move to a bigger side is becoming more inevitable as he continues to shine for the Austrian side.
At just 19-years-old, German forward Karim Adeyemi is the latest superstar caliber product to burst onto the season for Salzburg. An elusive quick footed talent, Adeyemi broke out last season scoring seven goals and grabbing nine assists in 29 appearances in the Austrian Bundesliga. He got off to an even better start this year already scoring eight goals and adding an assist in just 10 appearances, averaging 1.14 goals & assists per 90 minutes in Bundesliga play. He also recently burst onto the European scene winning three penalties and adding an assist in a recent Champions League game against Sevilla.
Adeyemi is in a great position for both club and country, having also already made his senior debut and scored his first goal for Germany, a country currently in a changing of the guard role who will begin to rely on more youngsters. It’s promising to see Adeyemi already in the mix and a goal on his debut will give him confidence at the international level.
But what can we expect from the youngster as he continues to grow? Adeyemi primarily operates as a center-forward with a deadly left foot. He’s extremely crafty utilizing an array of dribble moves to find finite spaces to create a shot or pass. While he seems to be a goalscorer at heart, Adeyemi is emerging as a striker who can create chances for himself and others using his solo creativity while boasting a deadly left foot that can find the back of the net from range as well. He is poised to become a dynamic forward making up for a lack of physical prowess with an abundance of speed and creativity.
So where could Adeyemi go from here? After a great start to the 2021/22 season and his breakout year last season, Adeyemi is due for a big move this summer. Many RB Salzburg players make the jump from Austria to fellow Red Bull GmbH club RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga but Adeyemi might already be ready for a step above even Leipzig. Clubs like Liverpool, Barcelona and Bayern Munich (who had Adeyemi for two years in their youth system) are on the hunt for an up and coming talented striker that might not command as large of a fee as an Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe.
Wherever he lands, Adeyemi will not remain a Salzburg player for long. For the rest of this season however, Salzburg will be able to rely on a talented striker who will give them a boost in domestic competition as well as in the Champions League where RB Salzburg will look to continue their strong start to group play.