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Scouting Liverpool Transfer Target Ademola Lookman
- Updated: August 11, 2016
With much of Jurgen Klopp’s transfer business conducted early in the summer, the German looks set to spend the remainder of the window tying up loose ends and fleshing out his squad when injuries and opportunities dictate—with a move for 18-year-old Charlton Athletic forward Ademola Lookman firmly of the latter.
According to the Mirror’s Darren Witcoop, Liverpool are among four clubs interested in signing Lookman this summer, joined by fellow Premier League hopefuls Arsenal in heading those looking to seal a deal ahead of 2016/17.
Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton are also named as possible destinations for the England Under-19 international, with all four clubs reportedly sending scouts to watch Lookman at this summer’s European Under-19 Championship in Germany.
The quartet of top-flight clubs are said to be willing to pay up to £2 million to secure Lookman’s signature, as the Premier League’s youth recruitment drive continues.
Unlike Spurs’ recent success story Dele Alli, however, Lookman remains something of an unknown quantity, with Liverpool scouts hoping to unearth a potential gem, ready to make the step up from League One to the Premier League.
So who is Lookman, and what could he bring the Reds if he were to make the move this summer?
Ademola Lookman
Born in southwest London in 1997, Lookman was playing youth football with Lambeth side Waterloo FC from the age of 11, and remained with the charitable outfit until 2014, when he was picked up by Charlton’s fruitful academy setup.
Before that, however, Lookman told Tony’s Soccer School of his confidence as a young footballer, saying he possessed the “passion and desire” to succeed, as well as highlighting his qualities as a player:
I see myself as a game-changing player and who can take the game by the scruff of its neck and make an immediate impact.
I am very talented with both of my feet and I can shoot and pass with both [my] left and right feet.
I believe [an] academy director should give me a trial because I believe I have what it takes to become a footballer.
This drive saw Lookman excel on his arrival at the Valley, initially turning out for Charlton’s under-16s side, progressing swiftly through the ranks at under-18 and under-21 level with the latter seeing him establish himself under academy manager Steve Avory.
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Speaking to BT Sport towards the beginning of the 2015/16 campaign, Avory highlighted Lookman’s potential as a young player, as well as Charlton’s role in developing him and youth colleagues as upstanding characters.
While Avory spent time focusing on Lookman’s outlook off the pitch, on it the youngster was letting his feet do the talking. After making his Addicks debut at 18, in a 1-0 defeat to MK Dons in the Championship, the versatile attacker quickly imposed himself on the Charlton first team.
Scoring both goals in Charlton’s 2-2 draw with Bolton …
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