Sky reporter: Liverpool ‘considering’ swoop for 22y/o speed demon – but there’s one big ‘concern’ | OneFootball

Mo Salah’s contract with Liverpool expires at the end of this season, and the club are reportedly eyeing Karim Adeyemi as a replacement.

As per Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg, the Reds have shortlisted the 22-year-old Borussia Dortmund attacker as a ‘potential successor’ for the Egyptian King.

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The transfer insider shared on X (formerly Twitter): “Liverpool are monitoring Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi. LFC are considering him as a potential successor to Mohamed Salah.

“Several top clubs are following the situation of the 22y/o. However, his injury proneness is a concern for potential suitors. Adeyemi’s contract with BVB runs until 2027.”

As per Transfermarkt, Adeyemi is valued at €28m (£23.46m). He has scored two goals and assisted three more in five Bundesliga games this season.

Adeyemi has the talent but there are problems

(Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)

The good news first – the forward will be only 23 years old next season and already has considerable experience in the Champions League and the Bundesliga.

Across his career at senior and youth levels, the versatile attacker has played 240 games, setting up 57 goals and scoring 90. Transfermarkt details that while his primary position is centre-forward, he’s comfortable playing as both right and left winger, having made 32 and 55 appearances in those positions respectively.

Furthermore, he is a speed demon. In the 2022/23 season, Adeyemi broke the Bundesliga record for top speed achieved when he clocked 36.65 km/h in a 5-1 win against Freiburg. That was surpassed this season by just 0.02 km/h, but we can see that the forward would definitely be capable of terrorising fullbacks in the Premier League with his pace.

However, not all is rosy. As detailed by Plettenberg, the ex-Salzburg player is injury-prone. Since the beginning of the 2022/23 campaign, he has missed 33 games due to various injuries.

Moreover, replacing someone as prolific as Salah isn’t an easy task. While the Dortmund star certainly has scope to get even better, fans should not expect him to readily match the Liverpool’s talisman’s numbers.

The Egyptian routinely scores more than 25 goals in one campaign while playing in the toughest league in the world. Adeyemi, on the other hand, hasn’t been able to cross more than 10 goals a season since joining BVB.

Of course, finding a successor for our best attacker of the last decade will be very difficult. We’re not sure if the Germany international is the best choice as things stand, despite his versatility and searing pace.