Bournemouth

Lookman up for sale, Brands made a mistake

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OPINION

Everton Director of Football Marcel Brands is surely destined to be left red-faced whatever the outcome of the reported pursuit of Toffees attacker Ademola Lookman.

The Independent reported on Friday that Southampton, Bournemouth and RB Leipzig were all in pursuit of the winger with him having been put up for sale after only making three starts in the Premier League this season.

The national newspaper claimed that the Saints were plotting a £20million move to get Lookman on their books, and highlighted that the Toffees previously wanted £28million for the player last summer when RB Leipzig tried to sign him for £22million only to be rejected.

While £20million is a lot of money and may not even be enough to get Lookman’s services, the fact there’s a realistic chance it could be surely has Brands feeling foolish.

The Independent’s report points out that Lookman is set to be cheaper this summer due to having only two years left on his current contract.

This means that the Toffees are not in the strongest position to demand the £28million they wanted for Lookman last season and more clubs are no doubt aware they can try their luck with their offers given his lack of action in the 2018/19 campaign.

The 21-year-old was only able to show glimpses of his talent across his 21 outings in the Premier League and when you consider only three of his appearances were starts, it hardly screams that he is a player worth gambling on by investing a lot of money in.

When you consider that RB Leipzig went as high as £22million with their offer last summer, that may have been the best deal for the Toffees.

It’s doubtful anyone else would be willing to bid more as Lookman isn’t coming off a great season like he appeared to be in his 2017/18 campaign.

Lookman had lit the Bundesliga up at the tail of the 2017/18 season by scoring five goals in 11 outings while out on loan, and clubs would have been more willing to splash the cash on him as a result.

So with that in mind Brands is surely destined to be left red-face over the outcome of the pursuit of Lookman as the Toffees are either going to have to sell him below what they wanted last season or they’re going to be stuck with him again only for his value to continue to decrease.

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