Lars Ricken clear: "We don't want to let Karim Adeyemi go" | OneFootball

After strong performances in the Borussia Dortmund jersey, Karim Adeyemi was allowed to start twice in a row for Germany—on Friday against Luxembourg (4:0) and on Monday in Northern Ireland (1:0). Although the speedy attacker was unable to replicate his BVB performances in the national team, he is nevertheless unmistakably on a good path.

Across eight competitive matches so far this season, Adeyemi has recorded three goals and three assists for BVB. Beyond these scorer points, the 23-year-old has also increased his value to coach Niko Kovac’s team with greater defensive contributions, and in the course of this maturation process, has further improved his standing in Dortmund.

It was precisely this aspect of significantly increased team play that managing director Lars Ricken highlighted in an interview with “Sport Bild”: “There are currently quite a few people who say that Karim is performing better at BVB than ever before. He doesn’t just define himself by goals and assists, but also works for the team defensively. His development is remarkable.”

BVB not willing to sell

Ricken also addressed two other points that hadn’t been optimal for Adeyemi in the past and may have prevented an earlier breakthrough: “It’s just as important now that he stays injury-free. With Niko, he has exactly the right coach, who keeps demanding all of this from him.”

Knowing that the performances of Adeyemi—who has repeatedly been linked with other clubs, mainly from England and Italy, in past transfer windows—have not gone unnoticed elsewhere, Ricken also made a clear statement: “We don’t want to let him go. So: no,” responded the BVB boss when asked whether an offer of 60 million euros, like the recent one from Chelsea for Jamie Gittens, would be sufficient, and instead emphasized Dortmund’s intention to keep Adeyemi beyond his current contract, which runs until June 30, 2027: “What’s clear is: We want to work with Karim long-term, and that’s what we’re working on.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.