da bet sport： It was viewed as a big coup for Everton when they won the race to sign highly-rated Charlton Athletic winger Ademola Lookman in an £11m deal during the 2017 January transfer window, even though it may not have been expected at the time that he would be a regular fixture in the starting XI.
da realbet： Nevertheless, the attacker obviously quickly made an impression to former Toffees boss Ronald Koeman, and after scoring on his debut as a substitute in the 4-0 win against Manchester City at Goodison Park, he went on to make a further seven appearances during the remainder of the season.
It seemed as though the 20-year-old could be set to stake his claim for a spot in the side for the start of the current campaign if he had a positive pre-season, but his chances were harmed as the Merseyside outfit went on a huge summer spending spree.
The England U21 international found first-team minutes hard to come by in the early months of the season as Koeman tried to shoehorn the likes of Davy Klaassen, Wayne Rooney and Gylfi Sigurdsson into the starting line-up, and there wasn’t too much room in the team for wide players like him.
In addition, such was the predicament that Everton found themselves in at the time, it was difficult for the Dutch manager to rely on younger players like Lookman, instead choosing to go with his experienced stars in order to try and turn their fortunes around.
It was something that largely continued under Sam Allardyce when he succeeded Koeman in November, with the winger only getting a few minutes on the pitch here and there.
Despite scoring twice in their final Europa League group game against Apollon Limassol, and then impressing as a substitute in the 2-1 FA Cup third round defeat against Liverpool at Anfield, he failed to play a single minute of football in the Premier League in the rest of January.
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It rightfully left the 20-year-old frustrated, and following the return of Yannick Bolasie from a long-term injury and the arrival Theo Walcott from Arsenal, it was no surprise that he was keen to play more regularly, and Allardyce didn’t stand in his way.
Lookman joined Bundesliga side RB Leipzig on loan until the end of the season, and Toffees fans would have been hoping that he would get some minutes on the pitch before returning to Goodison Park in the summer.
Despite making just nine appearances since the end of January the England youngster has made a big impression in Germany – again netting on his debut – and there have been rumours that they are keen to sign him on a permanent basis.
Everton supporters may have expected Allardyce to shoot those stories down given the clear the potential the player has and the fact that he hasn’t had a proper opportunity as of yet, but instead he refused to rule out a sale and said every individual has a price – leaving Toffees fans on Twitter furious.
Those comments are hardly going to be a positive sign for the 20-year-old in that his future lies on Merseyside, and the 63-year-old manager could be in danger of forcing the winger out even though he may not even be in charge at Goodison Park beyond the climax of the campaign.
Whether Allardyce stays or goes in the next few weeks, one of the Toffees’ priorities needs to be sit down for talks with Lookman and convince him that he is their future.
If Everton are going to win the race to sign young English talents like the attacker, they need to ensure that they treat them accordingly so more – such as Norwich City’s James Maddison and Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon – are convinced they should make the same move, too.
Everton have invested in players from abroad like Klaassen, Sandro Ramirez and Nikola Vlasic in the last 12 months and it hasn’t really worked out, and now instead of splashing out on new faces again it is time to look at a player like Lookman, who is ready to make a difference for them now.