Everton manager Marco Silva has confirmed that the club received an offer from RB Leipzig for winger Ademola Lookman this summer.
The former Charlton Athletic man spent the second half of last season at the German club, and Silva has now revealed that Ralf Rangnick’s side made a push for Lookman, on a reported £23,000-per-week [Source: Spotrac], in the off season.
“‘I don’t want them to give up because they don’t play for three months,” he told the Mail. “This is a process. It is something we have tried to explain with Ademola Lookman during the last market.
“It’s easy to understand the very good offer he had [from RB Leipzig], but we did everything to keep him because he has the capacity to achieve big and I want that to be here.
OPINION
It’s clear that Silva rates Lookman very highly and wants him to be patient and wait for his opportunity in the first team. That’s easier said than done, of course. Young players are always eager to play regular football and clearly Lookman considered the offer he had from Leipzig this summer. However, Silva obviously wants the 21-year-old to be a part of his long term project at Goodison Park. The Portuguese manager didn’t stick around for long at either Hull City or Watford, but Toffees fans will be hoping that trend changes at Everton. To do that he’ll need his best players to stick with him, not leave for pastures new as soon as they get a good offer. That’s clearly what Silva was trying to avoid with Lookman, because he feels the youngster can play a big role for the club in the future. He may not be able to offer the winger much first team football at this precise moment in time, but he wants the youngster to stick around and reap the long term benefits of what he is trying to build on Merseyside.