Barcelona Closing In on Karim Adeyemi Signing

Barcelona are loading up again.

Fresh from landing Anthony Gordon, the club are closing in on another major attacking signing, with a deal for Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi now at the finish line. The agreement for the Germany international is set at €22 million, with a further €7 million available in appearance and title-related bonuses.

In Dallas, Joan Laporta could barely hide his satisfaction. The Barcelona president has wanted Adeyemi for some time, and he made a point of underlining both the player’s profile and the work done behind the scenes.

“We are very excited about Adeyemi. 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,” Laporta told reporters, framing the move as part of a carefully managed rebuild rather than a rushed market grab.

As soon as the Adeyemi news broke, the spotlight swung onto Raphinha. Two big-money wingers in, one high-value asset already in the building, and Al-Hilal circling with heavyweight Saudi Pro League money. The numbers being floated are enormous: an offer worth more than €90 million to prise the Brazilian away from Catalonia.

On paper, it looks like the kind of bid that could ease Barcelona’s long-running financial strain. On the microphone, Laporta shut the door.

“Raphinha is going to stay. We have absolutely no interest in him leaving Barca. He is a mainstay,” he said, cutting through the speculation. “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.”

That word – “mainstay” – matters. It tells you how the club still view the former Leeds United winger, even after a campaign that left a sour taste.

Laporta did not pretend the 2025-26 season went to plan. Fitness issues bit hard across the squad and hit Raphinha at the worst possible time. A year earlier, the Brazilian had been one of the standout wide players in world football. When the decisive weeks arrived last season, he simply wasn’t at full tilt.

“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. The results would have been different,” Laporta reflected, a rare public admission of what many around the club already believed.

Now comes the squeeze.

With Adeyemi and Gordon walking through the door, Hansi Flick suddenly has an attacking unit stacked with options and egos. Lamine Yamal, the generational academy jewel. Dani Olmo, the intelligent connector. Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres, Rony Bardghji – all jostling for minutes, all expecting to be more than bit-part players.

This is no longer a front line built around a couple of untouchables and a rotating cast. It’s a knife-edge meritocracy. Form will decide, not reputation.

For the moment, though, the message from the top is unambiguous: Raphinha is part of the project, not a financial lever to be pulled. Barcelona intend to chase a third straight La Liga crown and launch a serious assault on the Champions League in 2026-27 with him still cutting in from the right.

If Adeyemi and Gordon hit the ground running, and Raphinha finally gets the injury-free run Laporta believes he was owed last season, Flick’s problem will be a luxury one: how to fit so much firepower into just three attacking slots.