According to Daily Mail, Championship outfit Derby County are keeping a close eye on Everton’s young sensation Ademola Lookman as Gary Rowett is vouching for some pace in his attack.
The Rams lost Tom Ince to Huddersfield Town this summer and in their pursuit of garnering an attacking tooth in the offensive frontier, they have been very keenly observing the developments of Lookman in his pre-season preparations with the Toffees.
Derby County failed to cultivate any sort of a substantial competition for promotion to the promised land of Premier League in the 2016-17 season of the Championship.
They could merely manoeuvre a 9th-place finish in the league table and after a 1-1 draw in their opening game of the brand new campaign against Sunderland in the Championship, Rowett’s intent of beefing up his attacking arsenal must have deepened. But then, is Lookman worth the fuss?
Lookman emerged through the youth ranks of Waterloo FC and Charlton Athletic, before being engineered into the senior side of the latter. The England U20 forward smashed 12 goals in 49 club appearances for the Addicks and eventually, Ronald Koeman made him sign on the dotted line in the January transfer window of 2017 for a fee which is believed to be £11million.
Last season in the Premier League, Lookman was handed 8 appearances by Koeman, whilst which he banged 1 goal (which came against Manchester City on his debut).
The 19-year-old thrives on his quick decision-making and exemplary techniques. Unlike other youngsters of his age, Lookman isn’t afraid of running at the opposition defenders and looks very confident while doing the same.
His finishing ability was top notch when he was at Charlton Athletic, he keeps the opposition guessing with his crisp movements and has the requisite skills in order to ply his trade for a notable club. Besides, he tracks back in order to defend and this trait, in particular, does make him an appealing commodity.
Having said that, he is far from being a polished product and for brushing himself adequately, he needs to get game time under his belt. Lookman has to be more consistent in the final third and make better use of his body when he is on the ball.
The Blues do have plenty of proven offensive options but see the Englishman as an asset which would appreciate, and thus, a loan move to Pride Park Stadium by Lookman should be a beneficial one for all the parties involved.
