Liverpool dealt blow as Borussia Dortmund make ‘breakthrough’ with Reds’ £30m ‘target’

A reported Liverpool transfer target could be set for a move to the Bundesliga after Borussia Dortmund reportedly made ‘a breakthorugh’ in their negotiations with the player’s club.

Karim Adeyemi, who is understood to have been on Jurgen Klopp’s radar for some time, could be moving to the Bundesliga next season with Sky Sports Germany claiming that Dortmund have reached an agreement over a fee with Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg.

However, that does not mean that the chances of the striker moving to Anfield are dead in the water, if the Reds decide to match or better the offer made by the German side.

Here is everything you need to know about the player and what has been reported in today’s news:

Who is Karim Adeyemi? German international striker linked with Liverpool

Karim Adeyemi is a 20-year old German striker who currently plays for Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga.

Born in Munich, the forward spent time in the youth academies of TSV Forstenried, Bayern Munich, SpVgg Unterhaching and Red Bull Salzburg before making his senior breakthrough with Die Roten Bullen in 2019.

Before that he spent time on loan at Austrian second division side FC Liefering, making 35 first team appearances and scoring 15 goals between 2018 and 2020.

He broke into the senior team at Salzburg in the 2019-20 season where he played 12 times and scored once.

Since then he has established himself as a regular starter and has scored an incredible 20 goals in 38 games this season despite only being 20-years old.

He has also won two league titles with the Austrian outfit, winning the Austrian Bundesliga in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons as well as the Austrian Cup twice in the same two campaigns.

On the international stage Adeyemi turned out for Germany at U16, U17 and U21 level before earning his first senior cap in a 6–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification win over Armenia on September 5, 2021.

He scored on his international debut, netting Germany’s sixth goal in injury time.

Since then he has won two more caps for his country.

At youth level, he was also part of the Germany U21 side that won the 2021 UEFA European U21 Championship.

What has been reported about Karim Adeyemi signing for Borussia Dortmund? Can Liverpool still do a deal?

Sky Sports Germany are reporting that Borussia Dortmund have ‘made a breakthrough’ in their negotiations with Red Bull Salzburg but “the deal for the German national player is still shaky”.

The article, translated from German to English, reads: “According to Sky information, RB Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund have reached a basic agreement in the chewing gum negotiations about shooting star Karim Adeyemi (20). After several rounds of talks, there was finally a breakthrough between the clubs this week.”

It looks like a fee of around €35 million (roughly £29 million) is what it has taken from Dortmund for Salzburg to accept.

Crucially, the same article also reports that Adeyemi is still in talks with Liverpool as well as RB Leipzig Paris Saint Germain.