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Tom OlverPublished Oct 8, 2024, 11:23am|Updated Oct 8, 2024, 11:24am
Liverpool are keeping close tabs on Karim Adeyemi and view the forward as a possible long-term replacement for Mohamed Salah.
Salah, 32, Liverpool’s third-highest goalscorer of all time, has entered into the final year of his contract and talks over an extension appear to have reached an impasse.
As it stands, Salah will be free to discuss pre-contract terms with overseas clubs in January and the Reds have been forced to draw up plans for the future without their talismanic Egyptian.
The Saudi Pro League has long been mooted as an option for Salah going forward and the attacker appeared to confirm that it would be his final season on Merseyside after Liverpool’s defeat of Manchester United last month.
According to Sky Sports Deutschland, Borussia Dortmund star Adeyemi is firmly in Liverpool’s sights and has been identified by Anfield bosses as a ‘potential successor’ to Salah.
Adeyemi has enjoyed an excellent start to the season, racking up five goals and five assists in eight games, and his form has not gone unnoticed, with Liverpool among several clubs monitoring the German.
The 22-year-old is currently sidelined with a muscle issue, though, and his injury problems have put some clubs off a move.
Juventus registered a keen interest in Adeyemi in the summer and appeared on the cusp of getting a deal over the line, only for the winger turn down a switch to Turin to stay on in the Bundesliga.
Adeyemi has scored 19 goals in 74 appearances for Dortmund since swapping Red Bull Salzburg for the Westfalenstadion two years ago.
His current contract with Dortmund runs through to the summer of 2027.
Chelsea were credited with an interest in Adeyemi in the summer transfer window and it was reported that the player’s representatives had been contacted over a proposed move to Stamford Bridge.
But Adeyemi – who has been capped four times by the German national team – was said to be ‘unreceptive’ to Chelsea’s approach as he wished to continue playing Champions League football this season.
Adeyemi completed a stunning first-half hat-trick in Dortmund’s thumping 7-1 win over Celtic in the Champions League last week but was forced off through injury just moments into the second period.
Dortmund head coach Nuri Sahin heaped praise on Adeyemi in his post-match press conference before it was revealed that the forward would be sidelined for several weeks.
‘Wingers and attacking players are going to score goals and that’s how they’re measured.
‘But what impressed me today was the work against the ball, that’s the benchmark for Karim, how I measure him.’
Dortmund captain Emre Can, formerly of Liverpool, added: ‘He played brilliantly, not just today, but also the last weeks.
‘He’s playing with more maturity, with more determination. That’s the requirement.’
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