Barcelona's Summer Signings: Karim Adeyemi and Raphinha's Future

Barcelona are not easing into this summer. They are tearing into it.

With Anthony Gordon already through the door, the club are now on the brink of sealing another major attacking signing, closing in on a deal with Borussia Dortmund for Karim Adeyemi. The agreement for the German international is set at €22 million, with a further €7 million in appearance- and title-related bonuses on the table — a relatively modest fee for a player with his profile, but one that fits Barcelona’s current financial reality.

Laporta’s delight – and a clear message

Speaking to reporters in Dallas, Joan Laporta could barely hide his satisfaction at the work done by his sporting department.

“We are very excited about Adeyemi. We've liked him for a while. He's dangerous and fast, and Deco handled the signing very well. The news came out when it was meant to,” the president said, framing the move as both long-planned and carefully executed.

Adeyemi’s pace and direct running add yet another dimension to an attack already reshaped by Gordon’s arrival. The natural next question, given Barcelona’s fragile accounts and the sheer volume of forwards on the books, was obvious: who makes way?

One name has dominated that conversation — Raphinha.

With Al-Hilal circling and reportedly readying a bid in excess of €90 million, the Brazilian suddenly looked like the most logical sacrificial piece in a complicated financial puzzle. A nine-figure offer from the Saudi Pro League would test any European club’s resolve, let alone one still wrestling with spending limits and levers.

Laporta, though, slammed that door shut.

“Raphinha is going to stay. We have absolutely no interest in him leaving Barca. He is a mainstay,” he stated. “With Gordon and Adeyemi, I see that we are reinforcing the attack, but that doesn’t mean we are going to part ways with Raphinha, who is key for us.”

That is as strong a public backing as a player can expect from a president in the modern game. No caveats. No “unless something extraordinary arrives.” Just a blunt refusal to sell.

The frustration of a lost spring

Laporta’s defence of Raphinha is rooted in more than sentiment. It comes from a sense of unfinished business.

He admitted that the 2025-26 campaign left a sour taste, shaped by fitness problems at precisely the wrong time. Raphinha, so explosive the previous year and, in Laporta’s words, one of the world’s elite performers, could not hit full throttle when it mattered most.

“The shame about last season is that he wasn’t able to be at full capacity during that final stretch of the League, Champions League, and Copa. The results would have been different,” Laporta reflected.

That line lingers. Different how? A deeper Champions League run? A domestic clean sweep? Only hypotheticals now, but it underlines how heavily Barcelona still lean on the Brazilian when the stakes rise.

Flick’s selection headache

The consequence of keeping Raphinha while signing Gordon and closing in on Adeyemi is clear: Hansi Flick will walk into a dressing room overloaded with attacking options.

On paper, it is a coach’s dream. In reality, it is a weekly argument with the team sheet.

Lamine Yamal, the teenage phenomenon. Dani Olmo, the technician who can knit everything together. Fermin Lopez, bursting through lines from midfield. Ferran Torres, ever willing, ever available. Rony Bardghji, another young talent demanding a pathway.

Add Gordon’s directness on the flank and Adeyemi’s blistering speed, and the front line suddenly looks like one of the deepest in Europe. Every training session becomes an audition. Every dropped player, a story.

The competition will be brutal. It has to be. Barcelona are not building this squad to tread water.

They are chasing a third straight La Liga title and a return to the summit of the Champions League in 2026-27. With this kind of firepower, and with Raphinha still very much at the heart of it, the question is no longer whether they have enough attackers.

It is whether anyone can live with them when all of them are fit.