OPINION
Ademola Lookman has put his long-term future with Everton in jeopardy if his decision to go against Sam Allardyce’s wishes and join RB Leipzig on loan doesn’t work out.
The 20-year-old winger joined the Bundesliga side on transfer deadline day, agreeing to join them on loan until the end of the season.
The Toffees manager then revealed to The Times on Thursday that he advised the player not to go to RB Leipzig on loan as it would be difficult for him to get the regular football there.
“It was his choice, we let him go where he wanted to,” admitted Allardyce.
“We tried to persuade him not to because I think it is a big challenge for his development, we wanted him to go out on loan in the hope he is going to play first-team football every week.”
The Everton boss was keen to see Lookman join Derby, according to the Liverpool Echo, as Allardyce was hoping that with regular football the 20-year-old could feature for the Toffees next season.
However, according to the Times’ report the youngster was stubborn and still opted to join RB Leipzig despite his manager’s warning.
This decision has the potential to cost Lookman a bright Everton future, even if Allardyce told the newspaper he hoped he was successful as his temporary club.
While the Toffees manager will no doubt use Lookman next season if he excels at a club pushing for a Champions League place, he now won’t have any sympathy if he fails.
The winger, who can play on either flank, looked capable of being a regular for Everton this season, given his impressive performances in his 17 appearances this season.
However, Allardyce told the Liverpool Echo, that he didn’t play Lookman regularly in the Premier League as he lacked the “experience” required.
Now it’s logical to suggest that based on this comment, if the 20-year-old played regular football for the second-half of the season with another club on loan then he would feature on regular basis during the Toffees’ next campaign.
So Lookman could have simply listened to Allardyce’s advice and gone to Derby, where the Championship club probably assured Everton they would play him and got the games needed to feature under Allardyce next season.
The Toffees boss will not be quick to play the 20-year-old during the next campaign if he hardly features, which is likely, for RB Leipzig this season and will not give him a chance to show he’s capable as he went against his manager’s advice.
If Lookman would have gone to Derby and not appeared then Allardyce would have held his hands up and pointed the finger at the Championship side.
However, the winger will be the one who shoulders the blame and face the consequences if his time in Germany doesn’t work out.
This is why Lookman took an unnecessary risk in choosing his new club as if he failed at Derby, it most likely wouldn’t have been seen as his fault.
The 20-year-old’s long-term future at Everton now could be in jeopardy as without regular football this season, Allardyce will keep loaning him out until gets experience.