The former Hachinger Karim Adeyemi made his professional debut for Red Bull Salzburg. In the Europa League against Frankfurt came on at halftime.
- Karim Adeyemi celebrates his professional debut for FC Red Bull Salzburg.
- The 18-year-old played a half at 1: 4 in the Europa League against Eintracht Frankfurt.
- The winner of the Fritz Walter Medal in Gold 2019 recently extended his contract in Salzburg to 20124.
The German youth international Karim Adeyemi has been part of Red Bull Salzburg's professional squad since January. The 18-year-old striker moved from the second Austrian league to Salzburg's first division squad in winter after Erling Haaland's departure to Borussia Dortmund from the FC Liefering support team.
With the Austrian second division club, the center forward scored 25 goals in 33 league games (14 goals and 11 assists). Due to the strong performance, the winner of the Fritz-Walter Gold Medal for the best U17 player in 2019 has already returned to Salzburg this winter. The contract extension went hand in hand with the promotion until 2024. Salzburg has long-term ties to the player following inquiries from various top clubs such as FC Barcelona, Liverpool, Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund.
Debut is not going according to plan
When Jesse Marsch came on to replace the 18-year-old at half-time, Salzburg was already 2-2 behind. Already eleven minutes after his substitution, the Frankfurt team increased to 4: 0. At least Hwang Hee-chan was able to save a penalty. Nevertheless, it will be a very difficult task for Salzburg in the second leg. Coach Marsch was not at all satisfied with the performance of his players: “Our performance was not our maximum. Not a player on the pitch has achieved his normal average performance, "the 46-year-old said at spox.com.
Adeyemi's start was mixed. The former Hachinger's first noticeable action was a swallow. In the 54th minute he went to the floor in the penalty area without contact with the opponent. He was rightly given the yellow card. But then the storm talent found a better place. He struggled and tried to use his pace to create danger. In the 80th minute he came to a dangerous conclusion, which Kevin Trapp was able to clear to the corner.
Hope for progress has not yet died completely
Despite the poor performance and the clear 1-4 defeat, there is still hope for remaining in the Europa League. Adeyemi continues to believe in progress: "Everything is possible in Salzburg," he said in an interview after the game. But the 18-year-old is understandably not really satisfied with his debut at RB: “First of all, of course, I'm happy that I made my debut. But I am disappointed that it went that way. It was a difficult game, but I tried my best to help the team. But unfortunately it was only enough for the 4: 1. "