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Liverpool could face a major blow in their pursuit of Red Bull Salzburg striker Karim Adeyemi.
Bayern Munich have reportedly entered the race to sign the German international and his signature is set to be hotly contested for this summer.
Teamtalk have reported that Bayern are ready to meet Salzburg's £38 million asking price and trigger a transfer.
As per the report, the Bundesliga giants want to complete the deal to provide cover or insurance in case Robert Lewandowski leaves the club this summer. The 33-year-old Polish forward will have 12 months left on his contract this summer and could leave the club in the summer window.
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The Teamtalk report claims that Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann has identified Adeyemi as the long-term replacement to Lewandowski at the Allianz Arena.
Adeyemi was a youth player at Bayern since 2010, but left the club a couple of years later to join SpVgg Unterhaching's youth team. The Bundesliga giants are now keen to re-sign him
Teamtalk had reported earlier that Liverpool are interested in the German striker along with Borussia Dortmund. However, Dortmund were reported to have been struggling to meet Salzburg's asking fee.
The 20-year-old has scored 20 goals in 38 games this season. He has also earned three caps for the German national team under Hansi Flick and scored on his international debut.
Karim Adeyemi could be the ideal successor to Roberto Firmino at Liverpool
The Reds currently have a plethora of forwards at the club. Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota are all impressive.
Jurgen Klopp also has backup options in Divock Origi, Harvey Elliott and Takumi Minamino. However, Salah and Mane are both entering the final phases of their contracts. Firmino is already 30 and is unlikely to continue at the top level for much longer.
Liverpool have maintained their faith in young players under Klopp. They could look to bring in fresh blood instead of opting to stick with the Firmino, Mane, Salah trident for much longer.
Adeyemi has all the qualities the Reds need in a striker. He has pace to run in behind defence and is versatile enough to play anywhere across the front three.
