Football transfer rumours ranked: Karim Adeyemi to Manchester United?

Manchester United take centre stage in today’s football transfer rumours ranked, with moves reportedly afoot for a flying winger and a ball-winning midfielder. Will they come to fruition? We assess the evidence.

Manchester United want to sign Karim Adeyemi from Borussia Dortmund

Football transfer rumours ranked rating: 5

What’s in a water bottle? Water, you may well assume. And oftentimes, you would of course be right. Put said water bottle on a football pitch, however, and all bets are off. 

Arsène Wenger famously saw red after hoofing one skywards following a disallowed goal against Manchester United in 2009. England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was lauded and lambasted in equal measure after revealing that she threw away her Spanish counterpart’s water bottle, penalty notes notes and all, during the Lionesses shootout victory over Spain in the Euro 2025 final. And few have had a more complex relationship with the humble water bottle than José Mourinho, who was dismissed for kicking one in his first season as Manchester United manager but exacted revenge by slamming a whole crate of the things to the ground in celebration following a late Champions League goal at Old Trafford two years later. 

In short, never underestimate the potential significance of the water bottle. The German newspaper Bild certainly doesn’t. Indeed, they believe a bottle-related incident may offer evidence that Borussia Dortmund attacker Karim Adeyemi could up sticks for Manchester United. 

The moment occurred following the 23-year-old Germany international’s 79th-minute withdrawal in last month’s Bundesliga victory over Köln, when a quietly simmering Adeyemi returned to the bench, took a sip from his bottle, and then hurled it behind him in fury. The incident drew a sharp reprimand from Dortmund boss Niko Kovač, who remarked acerbically: “I think that’s unnecessary. It’s okay that he can be angry sometimes, but that’s unnecessary. He’s an adult.”

Nor was that the end of it. Adeyemi also clashed with Kovač on the touchline during Dortmund’s 1-1 draw with Hamburg before the international break, a match in which the winger was introduced as a second-half substitute. While there have been signs of tension between the pair in recent weeks, however, it should also be acknowledged that their working relationship has been a fruitful one. 

When Kovač’s appointment was announced in January, Adeyemi, who had missed two and a half months of the season with injury, had only two league goals to his name. He went on to add another five to his season’s tally under the Croatian’s stewardship. and began the current campaign in similarly promising fashion. By the start of October, Adeyemi had contributed three goals and three assists across all competitions. To his evident frustration, his goal-scoring contributions have since dried up. Kovač’s faith in the attacker’s ability has not, however, as his appraisal of Adeyemi’s performance in this month’s 4-1 Champions League defeat at Manchester City made clear..

“We have a special relationship,” Kovač said. “Offensively, he played a good game. He needs to reward himself for his play more often because he had two or three really good chances. 

“I was overall quite satisfied with his performance but, naturally, an attacker wants to score goals. He didn’t manage that in this game, but I think he will in the next few.”

Those words, uttered just nine days ago, hardly appear to be those of a coach whose relationship with one of his star players has broken down irrevocably. What, then, to make of claims that Adeyemi could be off to Old Trafford?

From United’s perspective, they spent more than £200m to remodel their front line this summer with the additions of Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko. But while Mbeumo and Cunha have prospered, Sesko has struggled, scoring just two goals in 16 appearances before picking up a knee injury on the eve of the latest international break. Could United be tempted to make Adeyemi their next forward signing? 

Much will depend on how Ruben Amorim sees the resources already at his disposal. Blessed with searing pace, Adeyemi is at his most effective cutting in from the flanks. That is not to say he couldn’t do a job through the middle, but he is far from a like-for-like alternative to Sesko. It should also be noted that his best form tends to come in fits and starts. At a time when United, unbeaten in five Premier League outings, are finally starting to find some consistency under Amorim, Adeyemi may not be the player they need at this moment, particularly at a time when the more obvious priority is to find solutions in midfield.

Adeyemi, who is under contract until 2027, is understood to have held talks with the club over a long-term extension. However, his desire to include a release clause has reportedly been met with consternation at Signal Iduna Park. Whether or not an agreement is reached on that front, the winger would be likely to cost roughly €80m (£71m).

Could it happen? A key element in speculation linking Adeyemi to Old Trafford appears to be the identity of his agent. The German recently appointed Jorge Mendes, who not only represents United players Leny Yoro and Manuel Ugarte, and therefore has a good working relationship with the club, but is also on good terms with fellow Portuguese Amorim. 

While that would certainly smooth the path to a potential transfer, it should also be remembered that the same connection saw Sporting CP winger Geovany Quenda linked with United this time last year. Quenda, who played under Amorim at Sporting, went on to agree a move to Chelsea next summer. Dortmund’s desire to keep Adeyemi seems clear, but if the player has genuinely fallen out with Kovač – or simply favours a move to the Premier League – a deal could be possible. Just don’t go throwing any water bottles around if it doesn’t happen.

Manchester United could make a move for Wolves midfielder João Gomes

Football transfer rumours ranked rating: 8

Unlike a move for another forward at a time when they have just signed three, suggestions that Manchester United are considering an approach to Wolves for João Gomes make a lot of sense. 

Ruben Amorim’s desire for a younger, more dynamic No 6 to replace Casemiro, whose contract expires this summer, is well documented. United were strongly linked with a move for Carlos Baleba this summer, but Brighton’s reported asking price was deemed too steep after the club’s lavish outlay on a new forward line. In the absence of fresh blood, Manuel Ugarte has performed effectively alongside Bruno Fernandes in midfield. But the Uruguayan, more adept at winning the ball than carrying it forward, remains something of a square peg in a round hole in a 3-4-3 system that demands much of the team’s two midfielders. 

United have been credited with interest in Sporting midfielder Morten Hjulmand, although a lack of Premier League experience might count against the Denmark international. The same applies to Stuttgart midfielder Angelo Stiller, another rumoured target.

With the United hierarchy intent on cutting the club’s wage bill, and obvious candidates like Adam Wharton, Elliot Anderson and Baleba likely to command huge transfer fees and salaries, Gomes could prove an ideal recruit. He knows the league, at 24 is almost a decade younger than his compatriot Casemiro, and would cost less than any of the starrier names under discussion. He is also a Brazil international with 10 caps. This one seems a no-brainer.

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