"The star of the evening!" Karim Adeyemi celebrated after goalscoring debut for Barcelona
It was "only" a friendly, but Karim Adeyemi will probably take a great deal of confidence from the 5-2 win over FC Basel.
After his move from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona, Adeyemi scored his first goal for the Catalans against the Swiss side and also drew glowing praise from the Spanish press.
The 24-year-old had "made a statement" and "particularly shone" in the friendly win, wrote Marca, which also called the German the "protagonist of the match". Along with his opening goal, Adeyemi set up Hamza Abdelkarim for the 2-1. Only the late introductions of Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal made the result safe in the closing minutes.
He still delivered "a very complete game" and sent "a statement" to coach Hansi Flick: "He wants to secure a place in the starting XI. In an attack where there will be an extremely tough battle for places, the German is slowly gaining an advantage. He played well on the right and on the left and was decisive."
Adeyemi becomes the "star of the evening" at Barca
Sport also hailed Adeyemi as the "star of the evening" and said he had produced "his best game of pre-season": "His speed is impressive. At this level, he could be a great new signing."
Adeyemi joined Barca in mid-July for just €22 million after four years at Borussia Dortmund. In 2022, the Black and Yellows had paid around €30 million for the winger. However, the fee for Adeyemi could still rise to €29 million through bonuses, which would keep Borussia Dortmund's loss-making deal to a minimum.
On top of that, Dortmund secured a 35 per cent sell-on clause for Adeyemi. So if the 24-year-old leaves Barca one day for a big transfer fee, Borussia Dortmund would once again benefit enormously.
Under coach Niko Kovac, Adeyemi lost his regular place last season and, particularly in the second half of the campaign, often found himself in the role of a luxury substitute. Overall, he was never able to consistently live up to the huge expectations that followed his move from RB Salzburg to the Ruhr area.
Now he wants to make a successful fresh start under Flick at Barca, though he faces extraordinary competition in a squad featuring stars such as Yamal, Raphinha and Anthony Gordon.
Flick criticises Adeyemi after Barca debut
After his debut at the start of August, Flick still struck an extremely critical tone on Adeyemi. "He has much more potential than he showed. I have already seen a better Karim in training," said the Catalans' head coach after his side's 2-2 draw against Birmingham City, in which Adeyemi was on the pitch for the opening 45 minutes.
"Many things" from Adeyemi in the game had been "not so good", Flick explained. "But he is only in his first week of training, so that is normal. His speed and his finishing quality are good, he has a lot of potential. And I also think that he can give us a lot."
