Paul Fennessy

BORUSSIA DORTMUND are rapidly establishing themselves as the perfect finishing school for soon-to-be-world-class stars.

Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham, arguably the best striker and attacking midfielder in the game at present, both essentially confirmed their superstar status at the Bundesliga outfit.

On tonight’s evidence, they could soon again receive big money for another incredible talent destined for one of the absolute elite clubs.

Karim Adeyemi was aided by an out-of-sorts and error-ridden Celtic side, who conceded more goals in 45 minutes tonight (5) than in their previous nine games in all competitions this season (4).

But as bad as his opponents were, the 22-year-old was sensational and showed why Liverpool, Chelsea, and Juventus were among the clubs linked with him in the summer.

Contrasting reports suggested Dortmund’s asking price was either €30 million or €50 million but displays like tonight might render either fee insufficient.

The Munich-born attacker of Nigerian and Romanian descent got some luck with a deflection for his first goal but followed that up with two brilliant long-range efforts to pile the misery on the woefully naive Scottish side.

Adeyemi was taken off as early as the 48th minute having already virtually sewn up the man-of-the-match award. He had picked up a knock but it looked a precautionary move and the game was effectively won.

In style, Adeyemi is nothing like the aforementioned Dortmund graduates Haaland and Bellingham.

Perhaps a better comparison is with Cole Palmer. He has a similar light physical stature, brilliant close control and a tendency to excite on the ball with a penchant for the unpredictable. He is also incredibly dynamic, setting the record for the fastest-ever Bundesliga player against Freiburg last season (though he was subsequently eclipsed by Sirlord Conteh of Heidenheim).

He has not been anywhere near as prolific as Palmer — despite being a few months older Adeyemi registered only three goals in the Bundesliga last year.

Yet one legitimate comparison with Haaland is that he also secured his move to Dortmund with a standout season for Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg, scoring 19 goals in 29 league appearances during the 2021-22 campaign. 

Given his obvious talent, 19 goals in 75 appearances since then is probably a slightly disappointing return.

But there is no doubt Adeyemi has the potential to ascend to the highest level of the game.

Cynics might dismiss the significance of a hat-trick against a Celtic team patently out of their depth tonight.

However, Adeyemi has proven influential against much better teams.

He scored the opening goal of a 2-0 win against Bayern Munich last March in what was Dortmund’s first win in Der Klassiker since 2019 and the first victory at the Allianz Arena in a decade.

He also was on target in the draw with PSG last season and scored a stunning sole effort (see below) in the 1-0 round-of-16 win over Chelsea in 2023.

For all the progress Celtic have made of late, both before Brendan Rodgers came along and during his reign, the Champions League first-stage proper has tended to be their ceiling.

The Bhoys simply do not have one player close to the talent of Adeyemi and several other Dortmund individuals on this evening’s evidence.

Despite his relative youth, the former Bayern Munich youth player has been lighting up the Champions League for years now, scoring his first goal in the competition as an 18-year-old for Salzburg in 2020.

Yet there is still a sense of more to come from the prodigious talent.

He made Germany’s squad for the 2022 World Cup but didn’t play a minute of action while he was a surprise omission for the country’s Euro 2024 panel.

But if he continues to deliver more performances like tonight, Adeyemi will surely become impossible for anyone to ignore.