Everton should keep Ademola Lookman

There seem to be many opinions on Everton paying upwards of £40million to sign Brazilian forward Richarlison from Watford. For me, the Blues are paying the price for potential, and compensation for the arrival of boss Marco Silva, too.

However, the Toffees already have a young winger who can play on the left wing in Ademola Lookman. The 20-year-old is a bright young prospect, yet could leave the club this summer due to Richarlison’s arrival.

RB Leipzig looking to sign Lookman

Lookman spent the second half of last season on loan at Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, after then Everton boss Sam Allardyce had frozen the winger out of the team. Evertonian’s could not believe their eyes and ears when the winger left for Germany.

The team had been crying out for creativity, flair and pace, all attributes that Allardyce does not seem to like in his team. Lookman went on to thrive in Leipzig, scoring five goals and producing four assists, the same number as Richarlison all last season. However, Lookman produced that output in just 11 Bundesliga appearances.

Understandably, RB Leipzig has expressed a desire to sign the youngster on a permanent deal this summer. Leipzig’s director of football Ralf Ragnick has also stated that Lookman wants to make the move on a permanent basis.

Talk of a £20million move has swirled around the local press. Everton boss Marco Silva has announced that he wants to keep the youngster, though. However, with the signing of Richarlison, it is looking increasingly likely that Lookman will leave Merseyside.

A player with potential

Ever since Lookman burst onto the football scene as a teenager with Charlton, the winger has been rated as a youngster with tremendous potential. However, the problem has been that since he joined the Toffees in January 2017, the youngster has struggled for minutes on the pitch.

Former bosses Ronald Koeman and Sam Allardyce have refused to give Lookman a run in the team, despite him showing flashes of inspiration in cameo appearances from the bench. Those moments included a debut goal against Manchester City, and a bright substitute appearance against Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup last season.

Some critics say he is still raw and certain parts of his game are weak, which is true. However, nobody at Everton will ever know if he has what it takes to succeed at the club if he is never on the pitch. He has not had much chance to prove himself in his Everton career so far. The only reason I can think of for his lack of first-team action is that he has struggled to impress in training.

Still, from what he has produced in his limited appearances, he has looked like a player that could definitely be a success at the club.

Everton needs to keep Lookman

Everton needed to improve the squad this summer, without losing talented young players like Lookman. If Lookman and Yannick Bolasie left the club, boss Marco Silva would be left with just Richarlison and Theo Walcott as wide options, as there would be few other options, as Belgian international winger Kevin Mirallas is also expected to leave the club this summer.

If one of the first choice wingers suffered an injury, then Silva would have to adapt his tactics or end up with players out of position out wide, which would no doubt end badly.

The Toffees are an ambitious club. The Merseysiders will certainly want to enjoy a better campaign than last season’s that is for sure. Marco Silva’s team are currently odds of 7/2 to finish in the Premier League’s top-six.

A top-six finish seems unlikely for the men from Merseyside. However, if Marco Silva can keep his best players, including Lookman, and sign more quality in the last few weeks of the transfer window, then it may not be an impossible target for the Toffees.

Will Ademola Lookman still be an Everton player when the new season kicks off?