Karim Adeyemi: Who is Borussia Dortmund and Germany's speedy attacking sensation?
Faster than a speeding bullet and with a fierce shot, Borussia Dortmund forward Karim Adeyemi is the stuff defenders' nightmares are made of. What else is there to know about the 24-year-old menace?
Age: 24 (born 18 January 2002)
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: Forward
Country: Germany (11 caps/ one goal)
Key stats
Adeyemi was born in Munich and, following two years at first club TSV Forstenried, he was snapped up by Bayern Munich at just eight years old in 2010. Things didn't quite work out for the young Adeyemi at Bayern, however, and he made the move to SpVgg Unterhaching, registering 20 goals in 28 appearances in the Unterhaching youth sides before Red Bull Salzburg came calling in the summer of 2018.
Watch: The best of Adeyemi in 2025/26
After receiving Germany's prestigious Fritz-Walter Medal as the brightest U17 player in the country in 2019, he began making an impact in the Salzburg first team. Adeyemi contributed 27 goals and 17 assists in 68 Austrian league appearances for Salzburg while also netting four times for them in the UEFA Champions League.
Following his switch to Dortmund for the 2022/23 campaign, Adeyemi burst out of the blocks in his Bundesliga debut season, during which he received a call-up to the Germany squad for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and was named the league's Rookie of the Season.
Watch: Karim Adeyemi named Rookie of the Season 2022/23
Adeyemi would again prove crucial in the following campaign, adding five more goals to make it 14 in 66 games. Two of those were crucially in the Champions League, helping BVB to their third-ever final where they were beaten by Real Madrid. The winger scored three fantastic goals in Dortmund's 7-1 demolition of Celtic in the league phase of the 2024/25 Champions League season and boasted 36 goals in 146 appearances in all competitions for the club at the end of 2025/26.
Among his many achievements, one of Adeyemi's most fascinating is that he's been recorded as the sixth-fastest Bundesliga player since records began - having set a new top speed of 22.77 mph (36.65 km/h) in February 2022.
Plays a bit like: Yan Diomande
While Adeyemi is five years older than the RB Leipzig talent, they share an ability to leave defenders trailing with their blistering pace - as well as goalkeepers trembling due to their desire to bound down on goal and penchant for spectacular strikes.
Did you know?
Adeyemi has used his time out of football to conduct charity work in his father's native country of Nigeria. The Karim Adeyemi Foundation aims to provide education to 1,000 students and train 5,000 professional footballers by 2030.
What they’re saying
"He has some real skills that any Bundesliga team would want. He’s an absolutely world-class player." - Dortmund coach Niko Kovač
"Karim has shown he can be ice-cold in front of goal and that he plays with lots of self-confidence. He's still got lots of work to do, but he does his thing very well." - Former Germany coach Hansi Flick
"Karim has almost everything a striker needs. His quality and speed are incredible. - Former Red Bull Salzburg coach Matthias Jaissle
