Karim Adeyemi Shines in Barcelona's Pre-Season Win

Karim Adeyemi needed only one night in Barcelona to reopen an old question at Manchester United.

The 24-year-old German forward, long admired but ultimately ignored by United, scored his first goal and added an assist in Barcelona’s 5-2 win over FC Basel on Sunday, lighting up a pre-season friendly that suddenly felt like a statement.

United looked elsewhere. Barcelona waited.

United had tracked Adeyemi during the January window, when his value hovered around £70million after his explosive rise at Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund. The interest never turned into a bid. The club instead chose to rip up and rebuild the centre of their midfield after Casemiro’s departure, moving quickly for Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa and Andrey Santos from Chelsea.

Barcelona chose a different route. They waited.

While Europe’s heavyweights weighed up the numbers, the Catalan club played the long game and eventually landed Adeyemi for just £26.5m last month, a fee that already looks like a steal if Sunday night was any indication.

This is not a prospect plucked from obscurity. Adeyemi had already stacked up serious numbers before arriving in Spain. At Red Bull Salzburg, after signing his first professional deal in 2018, he delivered 33 goals and 24 assists in 94 appearances. Dortmund then cashed in on that potential in 2022, and he responded with another 36 goals and 25 assists in 125 games for Die Schwarzgelben, form that kept his name in circulation among Europe’s elite.

A first glimpse in Blaugrana

Against Basel, Barcelona were sharpening edges ahead of the new season. Adeyemi did much more than tune up.

He finally put his name on the scoresheet in Blaugrana colours and laid on another goal, blending direct running with sharp decision-making. It was only pre-season, only Basel, but the performance crackled with intent — the kind that makes recruitment departments wince if they passed him up.

Spanish outlets did not hold back. SPORT hailed him as the “star” of the game, while Marca noted he had “particularly stood out”, picking him out from a five-goal show that featured plenty of attacking threat.

The reaction spread quickly beyond Spain. Social media filled with disbelief at the fee and excitement about what might come next.

“How on earth did we convince Dortmund to let Adeyemi come for just €22M???” one user wrote on X, summing up the general sense of shock at the bargain.

Another comment captured the sense of a slow-burn signing suddenly catching fire: “He arrived quietly but could spring a surprise. Karim Adeyemi.”

One fan went even further in their praise, arguing: “Adeyemi is far from an average player. A player who single-handedly took a team like Dortmund to a UCL final is consider elite for me. And a quick reminder: he's just 24yr. His output is pretty impressive. 30+ G/A averaging Saka's best szn, and he never played for an elite team.”

The hyperbole around Dortmund’s achievements aside, the sentiment was clear: this is a player many believe is ready to explode at the very top level.

“I’ve always believed in Adeyemi, but I never knew he had this in his locker. What a player!” another user wrote, while a more measured voice added an important caveat: “A preseason match against Basel certifies nothing, due to the level of the opposition, but one can appreciate, in Adeyemi, the spark, the will to hurt, a certain degree of skill in the dribble, the intent of the pass and the shot.”

Regret on the horizon?

For United, that “spark” is exactly what they chose not to pursue. The club prioritised structure and control in midfield, not another forward option, even with Adeyemi’s numbers and versatility on the market.

If he carries this form into La Liga and the Champions League, that decision will be revisited often. A 24-year-old with his output, his profile, and that price tag will be measured against every attacking performance at Old Trafford this season.

Barcelona, for their part, look like they might have found their next high-ceiling forward at a cut price. United can only watch now and ask themselves a simple question: did they just let a £26.5m bargain slip into Catalonia?