SC Freiburg spent six million euros in the summertime of 2023 to safe the providers of Austrian nationwide participant Junior Adamu, inserting a variety of hope within the then 22-year-old from RB Salzburg. Nevertheless, this switch has but to repay for the Breisgauer. Will the third try be the allure?
Just lately, Adamu has been more and more convincing, rescuing an necessary level for the Breisgauer within the Europa League match towards Bologna with a penalty and already delivering a objective and an help on this Bundesliga season. He performed a key position in serving to SC climb again up the desk after a poor begin.
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It appears as if the Austrian has lastly damaged via. The one downside is, this isn’t the primary time that’s occurred—up to now, temporary highs have at all times been adopted by long-lasting lows.
The newcomer’s journey with Freiburg started two years in the past in a very bitter approach: on account of patellar tendon syndrome, he missed your entire pre-season after his signing and was unavailable for SC for the primary three league matches.
Freiburg’s sporting director Klemens Hartenbach defended his protégé that winter: “Junior is a constructive man, a cheerful soul, however he additionally places a variety of stress on himself. He wished to make an instantaneous impression right here at SC and assist the workforce. Even in his later appearances. Sadly, in the summertime he thought: ‘Simply don’t say something hurts.’ That was unsuitable,” he advised ‘kicker’.
Adamu’s debut season ended as modestly because it started: in your entire 2023/24 Bundesliga season, he managed solely a meager 93 minutes of enjoying time. The one brilliant spot for the participant and followers on the time: a objective and an help throughout a twelve-minute substitute look towards Backa Topola within the Europa League. As a consequence of his inconsistent performances, the teen additionally missed out on the 2024 European Championship in Germany—ÖFB nationwide coach Ralf Rangnick most well-liked to depend on Michael Gregoritsch.
📸 Alex Grimm – 2023 Getty Pictures
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An early departure for the striker was not an choice for SC on the time: “We had greater than six mortgage inquiries for Junior. However we shortly agreed that, after such a begin, we positively didn’t wish to throw within the towel after simply half a 12 months,” Hartenbach made clear in that winter interview.
So the 2024/2025 season was thought of a second likelihood for the Austrian. Full pre-season, a brand new coach—why not attempt once more? After a powerful begin to the season with braces within the first cup spherical towards Osnabrück and on the third Bundesliga matchday towards Bochum, he slumped once more after a couple of video games. Many missed large possibilities, issues holding up the ball, and weaknesses enjoying along with his again to objective.
New coach Julian Schuster stood by the striker regardless of all of the criticism: “I’m nonetheless completely glad with Junior and his improvement. He leads from the entrance, retains urgent, and brings his teammates alongside. That helps us enormously to implement our sport towards the ball the best way we wish,” he advised ‘kicker’.
So Adamu was allowed to remain once more this summer season and check out as soon as extra.
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The parallels to final 12 months are apparent given Adamu’s present excessive. begin to the season, a few objective involvements in a short while. However the query stays: Will he collapse once more and let his third—maybe final—likelihood slip by unused? Or can he lastly convert his nice effort into objectives on a constant foundation? For all of the defensive work, that’s in the end the foreign money by which strikers are measured.
This afternoon, the Breisgauer host desk neighbors Eintracht Frankfurt, and Adamu has the following likelihood to show that this time, issues actually are totally different.
This text was translated into English by Synthetic Intelligence.
📸 LUKAS BARTH-TUTTAS – AFP or licensors