Everton’s Ademola Lookman has undergone a torrid period at Goodison Park, having featured in only 24 games ever since his arrival in January 2017. His cause for selection has mostly been limited to last-minute substitute appearances and is a surplus to Sam Allardyce’s requirement.
The 20-year-old is enjoying his loan-spell with Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig and has found a bit of form for the England U21 side. His contract with the Toffees is set to run out after this season and Crystal Palace have expressed interest.
Lookman does draw quite a few similarities to the current Palace winger, Wilfried Zaha. Both their pace and dazzling footwork seems to be on par with some of the game’s best wingers even though Lookman needs to prove himself at a bigger stage.
Zaha has been at the heart of heavy transfer speculation since the January transfer window and Palace are in danger of losing him in the summer. If the Ivorian does end up leaving Selhurst Park in the near future, Lookman could be a prime replacement, given the age, he is at.
The former Charlton Athletic player has the years ahead of him to develop into the star that Zaha is at Selhurst Park and is more than capable of filling either of the wide positions. Lookman has already scored one and assisted one in his 5 Bundesliga appearances.
He has been capped 27 times in total for the England youth sides and has netted the ball on 4 occasions.
The player was a high flying name in the Charlton academy ranks as well. His remarkable scoring tally for the U18 and U21 Addicks side quickly moved him up to the senior side. He made his debut on 15 November 2016 and later scored his first senior goal against Brighton And Hove Albion in December.
He racked up 49 total appearances for the League One outfit and was one of the most highly rated youngsters in the country. He still is and Palace can obtain his services for free next summer.
The Eagles are fighting a gruesome relegation battle and have lost 4 of their last 5 league games, all against the top-six opposition. Roy Hodgson’s side did manage to put a brave fight against every one of the elites and even came close to beating Manchester United and Liverpool.
Read More: Chelsea Interested In Crystal Palace’s Sensational Winger: Should They Go For Him?
Zaha has proved to be one of their biggest offensive threats and losing him will create a gap the size of a crater in the Palace ranks. Ideally, a proven star like Xherdan Shaqiri would be a better replacement but that might prove to be far too expensive for a bottom-half club.
