Why Everton Manager Sam Allardyce Was Wrong Over Ademola Lookman's RB Leipzig Move

Why Everton Manager Sam Allardyce Was Wrong Over Ademola Lookman's RB Leipzig Move
14:05, 02 Feb 2018

Completed shortly before Everton's 2-1 victory over Leicester City, Ademola Lookman's deadline day loan move to RB Leipzig served as an unexpected twist in the career of a player who is still to find his way at the top level of the professional game.

Just days earlier, Blues manager Sam Allardyce had downplayed the likelihood of the winger moving before the close of the window, saying that Aaron Lennon's transfer to Burnley would be the last outgoing in wide areas. That a late switch eventually happened was a surprise in itself- but the decision to swap Goodison Park for the German Bundesliga caught even Allardyce by surprise. Other offers, namely from Championship side Derby County, were also on the table.

"It's one of the most unusual situations I've been in,” the Everton manager said after the Leicester game. “We've got some deals for him but he's adamant he chooses Germany but it's his choice so we let him go where he wanted to. For me, Oliver Burke has already been there as a youngster and couldn't wait to get back so going there and not speaking the language at such a young age – and on your own – is a massive challenge.

"We tried to persuade him not to because I think that's a big challenge for his development. We wanted him to go out on loan in the hope he is going to play first-team football every week and I think we had a much better opportunity to do that but his stubbornness means he got his own way in the end."

Puzzled - and seemingly a little infuriated - by Lookman's decision to choose the German outfit over the likes of Derby, Allardyce was quick to warn of the pitfalls of stepping into the unknown. Citing Burke, the Scottish international who had failed to make the transition around a year earlier, was his trump card. Language troubles were mentioned as one potentially damaging factor by the Everton manager, but it may well just have been the case that Burke- now on the fringes of the West Brom setup- was simply never good enough away.

There is substantial doubt in some quarters as to whether Lookman should have gone on loan at all. With Everton short of game-changers on the wings, and the England Under-21 international having recently shone in the FA Cup derby against Liverpool at Anfield, some believed the youngster had more than merited the opportunity to stake a claim for a regular berth in the Blues team.

Yet from the point at which a decision was made to allow Lookman to seek out game-time elsewhere, and a club of RB Leipzig's ilk showed interest, few- including Allardyce- should have been surprised by the end result. Given the choice between stepping down a division or moving to an upwardly mobile European side chasing Champions League qualification, Lookman was always likely to gravitate towards the bright lights of the Bundesliga.

This, though, does not have to the harmful step that Allardyce envisages it becoming. Leipzig, despite their associations with energy drink behemoth Red Bull, are one of the most progressive footballing sides in Germany- and place youth at the heart of their project.

With sporting director Ralf Rangnick at the helm, Die Roten Bullen (The Red Bulls) have swiftly developed a reputation for scouting Europe's top young talent- and then honing it over the course of the following seasons. According to Sky Germany's Kristian Sommer, Lookman, a star of England Under-20s' World Cup win over the summer, is exactly the type of player Rangnick will feel he and manager Ralph Hasenhüttl can work with between now and the end of the season.

"Rangnick knows English football really well and he saw his potential in South Korea when they won the Under-20 World Cup," Sommer told The Sportsman. "I think a lot of very young English players from that new golden generation like Sancho at Borussia Dortmund are doing the right thing in going to Europe, because not just will they get playing time on a high standard, they will also learn a lot from that experience living abroad.

"In terms of Lookman, Leipzig needed someone that had similar qualities to Forsberg. They wanted another option in midfield with a technically gifted player. However, during half a year it is still tough to make an impact straight away.

"I don't understand though, why Big Sam wouldn't want to loan him out to RB in the first place. For Lookman, it's a good chance to improve and become a better player for when he returns to Merseyside."

Tasked with garnering enough game-time to make his decision to snub Derby for Leipzig worthwhile- and indeed develop as a player- Lookman will likely compete with creator-in-chief Emil Forsberg and Marcel Sabitzer for role behind the strikers in the East German side's narrow 4-2-2-2 formation. A tough task awaits to oust either of the highly-rated midfielders, but with Leipzig also harbouring designs of getting to the latter stages of the Europa League, the need to rotate means minutes should surely follow if the 20-year-old adapts as planned.

There's also something to be said for Lookman, a mercurial talent still not fully trusted out of possession, being drilled to play RB's high tempo pressing game on the training ground. Whereas Allardyce saw it as a risk, stepping into a fresh context, with new ideas, can be a huge positive in the development of a young player. In order to be ready for the rigours of the Premier League next season, the former Charlton man will need to begin that learning process in earnest- so once it became apparent that his path to the first-team would be blocked until the end of the season, Leipzig was a particularly intriguing option.

Beyond this season, Lookman may well find that his own fate is tied to what happens to Allardyce at Goodison Park. Already on the periphery of Allardyce's thinking- the London-born player featured just once for the Toffees since the turn of the year- it could well be the case that the Lookman's supposed 'stubbornness' will have placed further doubt in the Everton manager's mind with regards to potential selection next season. Even then, the two are not the ideal fit stylistically. This is a marriage of convenience, rather than a logical connection between kindred spirits.

And so, the hard work starts now for Lookman as he bids to convince both Leipzig and Everton he's ready to make the permanent step up. He'll have to hope the brave decision to go behind his manager's back doesn't come back to bite.

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