Karim Adeyemi could have been a Chelsea player had the club's scouts followed up an initial interest in the German.
Adeyemi was Borussia Dortmund's hero in the Champions League round of 16 first leg tie on Wednesday night with the former Red Bull Salzburg star netting the winner in the 63rd minute. Dortmund countered at lightning speed with Adeyemi bursting past Enzo Fernandez and rounding Kepa Arrizabalaga to slot home and give his side the lead ahead of the return leg at Stamford Bridge later this month.
Having come through the ranks at Salzburg after a stint with Bayern Munich and SpVgg Unterhaching, Munich native Adeyemi signed for Dortmund in May last year. The four-cap Germany international could have been a Chelsea player after their scouts showed an interest in the player when he was a youngster, but they decided not to act.
"Karim was a little rascal in his childhood," Unterhaching president Manfreed Schwabl said last year. "We had to straighten him out a bit when it came to school. That he got there on time, had everything with him.
"When he was 16, some clubs from England wanted to sign him. For example, some scouts from Chelsea came, but I don't know if that would have worked out." Adeyemi's goal raised eyebrows because of the manner of the finish and given the player was able to run such a distance without getting dispossessed and being left one on one with Enzo Fernandez before taking the ball round Arrizabalaga.
"It is a counter-attack from a corner, we were close to scoring ourselves," Potter said. "They broke on us. It is disappointing, we need to do better. Apart from that, we were really, really good, we just have to score.
"You can see the supporters' reaction, they were really positive, they can see the performance of the team, they gave us a fantastic reception. "We are a team in progress, we know there are a lot of positive things there."
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