MX23RW : Saturday, November 23 23:58:20| >> :120:9908:9908:

Sam Allardyce opens up on Ademola Lookman loan departure

Everton boss Sam Allardyce admits that he "was not very keen" on letting Ademola Lookman leave the club on loan for RB Leipzig on deadline day.

Sam Allardyce has reiterated that the decision to let Ademola Lookman leave Everton for the rest of the season was down to the player and not the club.

The England Under-21s international was surprisingly allowed to depart Goodison Park on a short-term basis, as he took up the offer of a loan move to RB Leipzig.

Allardyce claimed earlier this week that the former Charlton Athletic forward would be going nowhere, having already let Kevin Mirallas and Aaron Lennon leave on temporary and permanent deals respectively this window.

Lookman was keen to play regularly elsewhere, however, and turned down the option to join a Championship side - thought to be Derby County - in favour of Bundesliga outfit Leipzig.

Asked if he was reluctant to sanction the deal, Allardyce told reporters at Friday's press conference: "I was, but he insisted so rather than have a player that was going to have the wrong attitude around the place. He wanted to play some football.

"I wasn't very keen on it based on the fact that we'd already let Mirallas go and Aaron Lennon, but he really wanted to get some football. We had the offer from Leipzig and we had another from a top Championship club.

"He chose Leipzig so he's got all of his choices to go and get some experience and hopefully a lot of first-team football in the Bundesliga, which for me is a very very difficult challenge for anybody for somebody at such a young age.

"From a football point of view, he's got a lot of talent but from a cultural and language point a view, he could find that difficult."

Lookman, in line to make his Leipzig debut against Borussia Monchengladbach this weekend, featured 13 times for Everton in all competitions before leaving.

ID:317761: cacheID:317761:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3111:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Ademola Lookman in action for Everton against Bournemouth on February 4, 2017
Read Next:
Allardyce: 'We didn't want Lookman to leave'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Crystal Palace121561017-78
19Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
20Southampton11119721-144


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!