Lots of Everton fans have been discussing how Ademola Lookman has faired since leaving Merseyside for RB Leipzig, having joined the Bundesliga outfit for £22.5million in July.
Leipzig held a long-standing interest in Lookman having taken the London-born forward on loan in 2018, after he struggled to establish himself at Goodison Park after leaving academy side Charlton Athletic for Merseyside the previous summer.
Ralf Rangnick’s Leipzig remained keen on Lookman’s potential throughout the following transfer window, leading to offers of £12m, £22m and £25m plus add-ons, but saw their efforts rebuffed as Everton demanded at least £28m as an up-front fee (Sky Sports).
The Toffees were reticent to losing the former England U21 international as Marco Silva was convinced of the winger’s ability, but felt Lookman’s form was inconsistent, particularly in training, meaning he rarely featured under the Portuguese (Liverpool Echo).
Leipzig returned to their previous interest following the appointment of Julian Nagelsmann to replace Rangnick in the dugout, and agreed a deal worth £22.5m in July (BBC), penning the forward to a five-year contract.
Lookman has faced difficulties establishing his place in Nagelsmann’s plans, however, and has played just 41 minutes in the Bundesliga so far this season (TransferMarkt), serving as an unused substitute on five occasions.
Die Roten Bullen are currently fifth in the German top-flight standings, having won four of their opening eight fixtures as each side struggles for consistency, with last term’s top two Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund also holding a 50% win rate this term.
Lookman’s struggles in the Bundesliga has served as justification for Everton’s decision to sell the 22-year-old in the eyes of some Toffees supporters, who have noted that his career has been a ‘flash in the pan’ story so far.
One fan has noted how supporters were calling for Lookman to feature more regularly under Silva, while another has suggested the Charlton product’s potential is not as high as some imagined.
Here are some of the messages shared among Toffees supporters discussing Lookman…
Doing well then ,Flash in the pan sorry to say
— lawrence mcnally (@lawrencemcnally) October 23, 2019
Hahaha. I said we wont hear anymore from him
— Leigh Parry (@Leigh_R_Parry) October 23, 2019
Obviously not as good as he thinks he is. Will ge start sulking to get a move again,l wonder ? Oh,and a big thanks to them there Germans…
— torreblue (@torreblue) October 24, 2019
All those calling for him to be given a go/the mistake we made selling him.
— Richard (@lazyrichie) October 23, 2019
Maybe he’s just not that good!
— Sam C (@Hyphen86SC) October 23, 2019
Lookman made a total of 24 appearances for Everton last season across all competitions, but started just three of his 21 Premier League outings, in which he failed to score (TransferMarkt).
One of the key reasons why he featured so infrequently under Silva was down to how the Blues boss saw the winger act in training, as his mood could shift from day to day (Liverpool Echo).
“He has to be the same Lookman everyday,” Silva said in March.
“He has to be the same Lookman that has that desire. We know what his quality is and you know I believe in his quality since the first day I saw him, so it has to be same Lookman everyday with the same desire everyday.
“He is a young football player but, being honest with you, I expect Ademola to be on a different level already this season. I keep believing, 100%, in his quality as a football player, there are no doubts about that. But what I want to see coming from him is the same desire coming from him, each day, to achieve that, to reach that level he wants and the level I believe he can play at.”
Lookman struggling at Leipzig has seen some Everton fans reflect on Silva’s concerns regarding the forward’s attitude, with one noting that the 22-year-old ‘just doesn’t have any drive or hunger’.
Another has suggested Lookman’s issues may have stemmed from being given a lucrative contract too early in his career, given he earned £23,000-a-week at Goodison Park (Spotrac).
The kid just doesn’t have any drive or hunger about him
— Cliff (@CJ27__) October 23, 2019
Massive talent, but a bigger attitude problem.
— Paul (@paulgefc) October 23, 2019
Maybe they have those heated leather bucket seats?
— Duke Silver (@Carl0sAlbert0) October 23, 2019
Got potential but sadly full ego that happens lot young players on ridiculous wages before progressed.
— Nick (@newtownnick71) October 23, 2019
an a few blues wanted to keep him too. lads attitude been found out
— neil muirhead (@neilmuirhead1) October 23, 2019
Lookman’s temporary spell at the Red Bull Arena Leipzig in 2018 saw the winger make 11 outings in the Bundesliga (TransferMarkt), in which he scored on his debut and penned a further four goals in his final five appearances.
He may have since added just one goal to his account when he struck past Lincoln City in the FA Cup in January, but some Everton fans are still convinced his career is still only just getting started and that any supporter happy that he is struggling in Germany is just looking for justification of his sale.
Seems like everyone in this thread is glad that he isn’t doing well. A bit of jealousy and a feeling of justification of letting him go from my fellow Evertonians. And clearly he’s not going to be playing mass minutes at 22 with the title challenging side that he’s on…
— David Deaderick (@DavidwDeaderick) October 24, 2019
Nice work for both goals so far tonight
— Usmanov1878 (@usmanov1878) October 23, 2019
And he’ll still finish the season with more goals than iwobi.
— Tommy Vercetti (@EfcTone) October 23, 2019