Everton have completed their first signing of the January transfer window with 19-year-old Charlton striker Ademola Lookman joining in an initial £7.5 million deal, which could rise based on performances. The forward has signed a four-year deal with the Merseyside club and leaves Charlton having scored 7 goals for the League One side.
Charlton prospects
Lookman joined Charlton's academy in 2014 and made his first team debut 3rd November 2015 after impressive performances for both the U18 and U21 sides. It only took him a month after his debut to score his first goal for the club in a 3-2 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Lookman hasn't made 50 first-team appearances having only featured for the League One club 45 times in the league before making his move to Everton. He has made 3 FA Cup appearances and has played once in the League cup to take his overall tally to just 49 games. His lack of game time despite his age shows a certain faith that manager Ronald Koeman has in the striker. Lookman has also only scored 12 goals in all competitions since making his competitive debut and will be hoping to add to that in the Premier League in the second half of the season.
Everton's future
Big comments from the manager emphasise that Lookman is not just a signing for the future but for the present also and will be understudy to star striker Romelu Lukaku.
The 19-year-old has been on the Premier League radar for some time after breaking through the ranks at Charlton and has finally bagged his move to the top flight with Everton. Lookman won't be expected to start scoring goals week in and week out for the club but goals is something that Everton have struggled for this season, having only scored 28 in 20 games compared to Liverpool's 48 in the same amount of games.
However Lookman will be hoping to use the second half of the season to demonstrate his abilities in England's top stage and lay the foundations for potential regular Football next season. With the faith from Koeman and the backing of the fans, Lookman can become an important player for Everton in the future and a steal at £7.5 million in today's inflated market.
