Laporta excited by ‘dangerous’ Adeyemi as Barcelona move edges closer

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta said the LaLiga giants had been admirers of Karim Adeyemi for a while, and he is thrilled that a deal is close to being completed.

On Sunday, it was announced by Borussia Dortmund that Adeyemi was absent from pre-season training for talks with another club, amid speculation of a move to Barcelona. 

The Germany international, who was a part of his nation’s squad for the World Cup, is on the verge of moving to Hansi Flick’s side for a reported transfer fee of €22m plus up to €7m in add-ons tied to appearances and title bonuses.

Adeyemi joined Dortmund from Salzburg in 2022 and went on to make 146 appearances in all competitions, scoring 36 goals and providing 22 assists. 

He registered 18 goal contributions (10 goals, eight assists) across all competitions last season, while also registering team-high totals for completed dribbles (52), a total only Lamine Yamal (225) and Fermin Lopez (65) could better for Barcelona in 2025-26.

Should the deal be completed, Adeyemi would be Barcelona’s second signing of the summer following the big-money addition of Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United. 

“We are very excited about Adeyemi,” Laporta said. “We’ve liked him for a while.

“He’s dangerous and fast, and Deco handled the signing very well. The news came out when it was meant to.”

Karim Adeyemi und Kjell Wätjen fehlen heute bei der Leistungsdiagnostik. Beide Spieler sind für Gespräche mit anderen Vereinen freigestellt.

— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) July 12, 2026

Adeyemi’s impending arrival has seen speculation around some of Barcelona’s other attackers grow, with Ferran Torres of reported interest to Paris Saint-Germain. 

In addition, Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal have been credited with a move for Raphinha, who endured an injury-disrupted campaign in 2025-26.  

Raphinha, who also sustained an injury while on international duty with Brazil at the World Cup, has been a standout performer for Barcelona since his move from Leeds United.

He has registered 129 goal involvements (76 goals, 53 assists) in 191 appearances in all competitions for the club, and he was even tipped to challenge for the Ballon d’Or in 2024-25 following a sensational individual campaign. 

Raphinha’s 56 goal contributions that season was only bettered by Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (57), though Laporta quickly shut down rumours of a potential exit. 

“Raphinha is going to stay. We have absolutely no interest in him leaving Barcelona. He is a mainstay,” Laporta added.

“With Gordon and Adeyemi, I see that we are reinforcing the attack, but that doesn’t mean we are going to part ways with Raphinha, who is key for us.”

Raphinha missed 19 games across all competitions last season with two separate hamstring issues, and Laporta said his absence was felt by Barcelona, despite winning LaLiga and the Supercopa de Espana.

“The shame about last season is that he wasn’t able to be at full capacity during that final stretch of the League, Champions League, and Copa,” Laporta noted.

“The results would have been different.”

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