Barcelona have completed the signing of Karim Adeyemi from Borussia Dortmund.The Athletic reported on July 10 that a deal had been reached between the two clubs for a fixed fee of €22million (£18.7m; $25.1m) plus add-ons, with a sell-on clause included. It followed Barcelona’s €20m offer which was rejected by Dortmund earlier that week.Barcelona confirmed Adeyemi’s arrival on Thursday on a five-year deal through to 2031.The 24-year-old forward left Dortmund a year before his contract was due to expire.Aston Villa had also held long-term interest in Adeyemi, whose preference earlier in the summer had been for a move to the Premier League.Adeyemi registered 10 goals and six assists in 39 appearances in all competitions last season, playing mostly down the middle in Dortmund’s attack. He is also capable of playing on either flank.After joining the Bundesliga club from RB Salzburg in 2022, Adeyemi recorded 36 goals and 25 assists in 146 appearances. He was a key member of the side that reached the Champions League final in 2024, starting eight of Dortmund’s 12 matches in that run, including the 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the final.There is space for Barcelona to bolster their attack after Ansu Fati and Robert Lewandowski have left the club this summer, joining Monaco and Chicago Fire respectively. The Catalan club did not exercise their €30m buy option in Marcus Rashford’s loan agreement from Manchester United, but signed Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United in a €80m deal.Adeyemi was omitted from Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany squad at this summer’s World Cup after struggling for form and fitness towards the end of the 2025-26 campaign. He was handed his senior national team debut by Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick in 2021.Do Barca need Adeyemi?Analysis by Barcelona correspondent Pol BallusBarca has secured another attacking signing, and it was far from expected. Adeyemi joins the club defined as a market opportunity, and a player Flick has in really high esteem. The head coach played a key role, according to club sources, in approving the deal when the opportunity arose.But do Barcelona need Adeyemi? That is certainly a good question. It is difficult to envisage a clear path to the starting line-up for him. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha are established as starting wingers, and there is new signing Gordon, in the mix too now. Barca sources indicate there is a big chance of Roony Bardghji leaving on loan.A broader conclusion can be drawn from that deal, which is how Flick wants to keep improving his team. With Gordon and Adeyemi, Barca have added two fast and, most importantly, diligent counter-pressers.The German is obsessed with high pressing as the key to his system, on and off the ball. Last term, he took the spotlight away from defenders on multiple occasions, whenever their high line looked too exposed. Flick is now strengthening his attack to improve his defence.Adeyemi’s arrival does not have any impact to Barca’s desire to sign Julian Alvarez. The Catalans still have the Argentina striker as their top priority signing for the summer, and the player they want to replace Robert Lewandowski.‘Adeyemi’s potential remains largely unrealised’Analysis by German football writer Sebastian Stafford-BloorAt times over the last two years, Adeyemi has threatened to become an outstanding player. During the second half of the 2024-25 season and the first half of 2025-26, he was Dortmund’s most important player and an invaluable weapon on the counterattack. At his very, very best, Adeyemi’s speed and goalscoring make him incredibly dangerous and yet, despite that, this Barcelona move is a surprise.Firstly, because consistency has often eluded him. He is the kind of player capable of having six excellent weeks, but who is then prone to fading to anonymity. That will have to change if he is to succeed at Barcelona, where the standards are much, much higher. Similarly, while he has attributes that Hansi Flick will find value in, his first touch, all-round technical ability and decision-making cannot always be depended upon and that will each have to improve.The noise away from the pitch must die down, too. Most recently, Adeyemi got embroiled in the ridiculous “mystery box” saga, for which he was heavily fined. He’s still only 24, so relatively young, but the type of naivety that incident — or others like it — described will cost him very dearly in Spain, where the focus will be considerably stronger than it has ever been in Dortmund.Can he succeed? Yes, he has some useful tools that do not otherwise exist in Flick’s Barca squad. But will there have to be some adaptation to ensure that he takes this opportunity? Also yes, because his potential remains largely unrealised and he is extremely fortunate to be getting this chance to play at the very top of the game.