Karim Adeyemi is increasingly causing trouble at Borussia Dortmund. Since a contract extension is unlikely, the club is faced with the question of whether it would be better to sell the national player straight away. A pro and con.
Karim Adeyemi has great football talent, but the 23-year-old is currently making headlines off the pitch. Borussia Dortmund signed the national player from Red Bull Salzburg in 2022 for a transfer fee of 30 million euros; his current market value is estimated at 60 million.
Adeyemi’s contract is valid until the summer of 2027, and an extension of the working paper is considered unlikely. BVB is therefore faced with the question of whether the offensive player should perhaps be sold this winter.
Yes, says editor Jörg Hobusch: “Stamp on your ass and off.” Reiner Calmund said this sentence about eight years ago about the then BVB professional Aubameyang. Now the Dortmunders have to fight with an egoist again. If you read stories about Adeyemi, it’s about illegal possession of weapons or childish behavior during substitutions – discarded drinking bottles and the escape into the dressing room prevented by sports director Kehl.
There is hardly anything about top sporting achievements. Yield in 2025/26 so far: a total of six goals in all competitions combined.
Such a “bad apple” can drag an entire team into a performance slump, like Vinícius Júnior at Real. The bosses are also annoyed. BVB should sell him immediately, especially because there is currently still a market for him. Clubs in all top leagues are said to be interested. Therefore: take 60 million and go for it!
No, says editor Maximilian Wessing: Coach Niko Kovač knows it, the bosses know it: BVB hardly has any professionals anymore who can decide games through a single action and for whom the fans come to the stadium. Karim Adeyemi is one such player mainly because of his speed.
If BVB lets him go, Dortmund’s game threatens to fade completely. Then the spectacle on the lawn will finally be a thing of the past. Especially since those responsible in the case have to prove that they are steadfast and assertive. Otherwise, the door is open to all other players in the future to provoke a possible departure. According to the motto: If I don’t feel like going to Dortmund anymore, I’ll just misbehave…
Those responsible, Lars Ricken and Sebastian Kehl, now have to prove that they can deal with hardship cases. And in the best case scenario, extend it with Adeyemi, who has a contract until 2027.
The text was written for the Sports Competence Center (WELT, „Bild“, “Sport Image”) created and first published in “Sport Bild”.
