OPINION
Everton managed to reject all advances for young forward Ademola Lookman this summer, with the 20-year-old now having to knuckle down for the season ahead at Goodison Park.
The winger was expected to complete a permanent move away from the club during the summer window, with RB Leipzig looking to sign him on a permanent deal after a successful loan spell last term.
Instead, Everton held firm in the face of bids reported to have reached £23million, and Lookman now faces the task of forcing his way into the Toffees starting XI after a turbulent few months.
Boss Marco Silva has now weighed in on the situation ahead of Everton’s clash with Huddersfield on Saturday, coming out swinging on their rivals in the market as he declared Everton’s days of selling their best players are over.
As quoted by the Mirror, he said: “You think it was a very good offer? I disagree completely with the offer, but it is not my job to talk about the money. We have to be strong and keep our idea what we want. It is not just Lookman, it is all of them. We have to keep the players we believe we can develop and help our squad.
“It is really hard for us to buy players and the other clubs, they have to understand that they have to respect the value of players. I am not talking just about Lookman.”
This is fighting talk from Silva, who was obviously not happy with Leipzig’s valuation of Lookman, who cost the club just £11million in January 2017.
The Portuguese may however have a problem on his hands if Lookman is still unsure about his future at the club, and he must now help to convince the unsettled winger of that.
Including him in the squad to face Huddersfield would be a start, and the absence of Richarlison over the next couple of games should provide a good opportunity for minutes.
Providing Lookman with the chance to make an impact for the Toffees over the next few matches will be key to helping him settle back in at Goodison Park.
If he is left on the bench on a regular basis over the next few weeks then he will merely continue to rue his failed move abroad, and that will have a negative effect on his morale and that of the squad as a whole.
Starting him against Huddersfield may not be the best move considering how quickly the game has come after the deadline, but heavy involvement over the coming weeks is key.