Report: Karim Adeyemi turned down Germany U-21s call-up

Karim Adeyemi turned down a call-up to the Germany U-21s squad, opting to instead stay at Borussia Dortmund during the international break.

It has been a difficult start to the season for Karim Adeyemi, who finds himself on the periphery of the Germany squad at the moment. The highly rated forward represented the Germany U-21s during October’s international break, and was offered another call-up to the squad this month.

However, Adeyemi decided to turn it down in order to train at Borussia Dortmund during the international break in the hopes of cementing a regular starting spot in the team. According to BILD, the decision was accepted by the DFB but did not go down too well with Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann.

Germany U-21s head coach Antonio Di Salvo was asked about Adeyemi’s absence and said that the forward wants to continue to train with Borussia Dortmund in order to achieve his goals.

Karim Adeyemi, who won the Bundesliga rookie of the year award last season, has endured a difficult start to the current campaign. The 21 year old has yet to score this season and was also subject to criticism from the BVB coaches in August. But he has shown glimpses of his quality in recent weeks, and has two assists in his last four games.

Adeyemi will now hope to build some momentum and establish himself as a regular starter for Borussia Dortmund. If he manages to find his form in the coming months, he would very much be in line for a call-up to Germany’s Euro 2024 squad.