Ademola Lookman: Back to England’s Top Flight

His dream was always to play in the English Premier League but could not seal a permanent shirt at Everton and was eventually shipped out of the club. Ademola Lookman’s opportunity for an English top-flight finally came last season after he was loaned to Fulham but his 35 appearances and four goals for the Cottagers were not enough to save them from relegation. With just three weeks into the new season, another opportunity has come the way of the RB Leipzig winger to prove his mettle at the English league top-flight after Leicester City came for his signature

Ademola Lookman returns to the English top-flight weeks after his stint at Fulham ended in relegation as Premier League side Leicester City have completed the signing of the winger from RB Leipzig.

Confirming the deal, the Foxes revealed on their Twitter feed that the 23-year-old joined the Foxes temporarily for the remainder of the season.
The two clubs arrived at an agreement that see the former England youth international return to his country of birth.

The former Charlton winger spent two-and-a-half years at Everton before moving to Leipzig permanently in July 2019, where he has made only 13 appearances.
Lookman said of his move to the King Power Stadium: “I’m delighted to be here. It’s a great honour to be at such a big and amazing club with such a huge history and a quality group of players.

“The facilities are incredible. It’s pretty mind-blowing and I just can’t wait to get to work here. I think environment is very important for a player, so this is the right environment for me to work hard every single day and to help my craft be even better.”

Lookman, who has already started the process that would help him fulfil the dream of playing international football for Nigeria, will now team up with Super Eagles stars Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho, two of Leicester’s best players.

Lookman moved to RB Leipzig permanently in 2019 for €18 million after an impressive season on loan in the Bundesliga, but the Nigerian descent failed to settle in Germany.
The Super Eagles hopeful spent the second half of last season on loan at Fulham, and he was excellent as he scored four goals and provided another four assists in 35 league games.
But the Londoners were relegated at the end of the campaign and passed up the chance to sign Lookman permanently.

Lookman helped England win the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in the Korea Republic and was also part of the England team which won the 2017 Toulon U-20 Four Nations tournament in France.
In the penultimate summer, Lookman set a new Nigerian transfer record when he moved to RB Leipzig from Everton for a move worth up to £22.5m

German Bundesliga club, RB Leipzig broke the Nigerian transfer record for Lookman after Everton agreed to sell the winger for a fee said to be worth up to £22.5m.Born as Ademola Olajade Lookman October 20, 1997, in Wandsworth, London to Nigerian parents, he attended St. Thomas the Apostle College in Peckham where he achieved three As and five As at GCSE.

Lookman signed for Everton on January 5, 2017 for a fee of £7.5m rising to £11m on a four-and-a-half year contract and made his debut for the club 10 days later. He scored on his debut.
He received his first international call up on May 16, 2016 being named in the England U-19 squad for a double header against Mexico. He was subsequently named in the England squad for the European U-19 Championships the same summer.

An eventful and largely successful transfer window is over for Leicester City, and now manager Brendan Rodgers must figure out the best way to utilise the new members of his first-team squad.
The likes of Boubakary Soumare, Patson Daka and Jannik Vestergaard have added significant strength to the Foxes over the summer, but it’s the arrival of RB Leipzig loanee Ademola Lookman that arguably brought the most intrigue.

Highly rated as a teenage prodigy, the 23-year-old has spent the last few years enduring a series of short-term spells at various clubs with a wide-ranging degree of success.
Now the time has come for Lookman to showcase his true potential on a regular basis on the biggest of stages, and Rodgers’ influence could be crucial to the former England U-21 international finally putting together a string of performances that his ability deserves.

However, after finding chances in the senior setup hard to come by during his first year on Merseyside, Lookman joined Leipzig on a six-month loan deal and excelled at the Red Bull Arena, bagging five goals and providing four assists in just 11 Bundesliga outings.

His return to Goodison Park for the 2018/19 campaign didn’t go as planned, though. Just three goal contributions in 24 appearances in all competitions saw him return to Leipzig the following summer on a permanent deal, but it’s a move that the youngster has regretted ever since.

The Englishman was granted just 377 minutes of first-team action on his return to German football as Lookman started just two games all season in all competitions.
Unsurprisingly, another move occurred following the conclusion of 2019/20, this time taking him back to the English top-flight with Fulham.

A respectable total of four goals and four assists in 34 Premier League games for the relegated Cottagers put Lookman back at the forefront of many clubs’ minds, and it’s Leicester who have taken a punt on the talented.

His outstanding performances saw former Fulham manager Scott Parker label him as “unbelievable,” and as a result, Rodgers must now help Lookman reach his ceiling, as much for Leicester’s Champions League ambitions as the player’s own career.

With Harvey Barnes currently occupying the left-wing position, the Northern Irish tactician may be forced to field his new acquisition on his less-favoured right-hand side, but it’s a tactic that could prove rather beneficial.

Like most modern-day wingers, Lookman has predominantly featured on the left-wing due to being right-footed, allowing him to cut inside and shoot at goal with ease, but restricting his ability to get to the opposition byline.

By converting Lookman, Rodgers will be able to field two pacey, tricky wide men capable of wreaking havoc on any Premier League defence this season, providing Leicester with the attacking force they need to finally break into the top four.