Report: Chelsea spotted 'incredible' youngster before he became a star, now he's on the verge of a big transfer
Chelsea reportedly identified Karim Adeyemi ahead of his major breakthrough in European football.
According to Goal, the Blues sent scouts to watch the current RB Salzburg striker whilst he was playing for Unterhaching.
Where has Adeyemi come from?
Adeyemi had originally been part of Bayern Munich’s academy, yet they released the attacker due to punctuality reasons.
He remained in Munich with Unterhaching, where Chelsea originally discovered his talents.
“When he was 16, some clubs from England wanted to sign him. For example, some scouts from Chelsea came, but I don’t know if that would have worked out,” revealed the club’s president, Manfred Schwabl.
The Athletic also assert that Adeyemi, his family and Schwabl were invited to spend a week at Cobham.
All three parties decided life in London was not the best step for his development.
Instead, the then-teenager joined Salzburg for £2.9m (Goal).
A star with Salzburg
After a brief spell in the youth side, sandwiched by two loan spells with Austrian minors Liefering, Adeyemi eventually arrived at the first team doorstep.
Since his debut in 2020, the 20-year-old has made 79 appearances for Salzburg, scoring 28 times.
He is already on 18 for the season, including three in the Champions League, two of those against Chelsea’s next European opponent, Lille.
Clearly, the Blues saw this epic rise coming a mile off, but so did Janusz Gora, a youth coach at Salzburg and Liefering.
“You could immediately see that he was special, an incredible talent, fast, good technique, explosive on the ball,” explained Gora.
“Even though he played against grown men with Liefering, he was the sort of player who decided games, with a goal or an assist. As a coach, you knew there was something about this kid.”
Now, the whole of the continent knows about ‘this kid’, as he prepares to face Bayern in the Champions League later this evening.
Borussia Dortmund in particular are aware of his capability, as they apparently lead the race to sign his sort-after signature, despite Liverpool also sniffing around.
Another one Chelsea let slip through the net.
Keep up to date with all the latest Chelsea news and opinion by following The Chelsea Chronicle’s Facebook and Twitter accounts
