Of all the frustrating things that Sam Allardyce did during his time in charge of Everton, letting Ademola Lookman go out on loan in the January transfer window had to be one of the worst.

The England youngster is an exciting talent and proved as much with his performances in Germany while on loan with RB Leipzig. The 20-year-old managed five goals and three assists in 11 games during his time with the Bundesliga side, while Everton were left trying to get anything out of a half-fit Yannick Bolasie.

Leipzig were clearly impressed by him and have appeared keen on making the move a permanent one for much of this summer. Their DIrector of Football Ralf Rangnick is a self-professed Lookman fan and has spoken highly of the youngster.

Reports of a derisory bid of £12million came and were quickly laughed off by most around Goodison Park, with a second bid of £14m also rejected with reports stating that the Blues had set the pricetag at £20m.

The Independent are now reporting that the German side are planning to make a third bid to bridge the gap between the two sides. The article also claims that the player himself wants the move as he feels he stands a better chance of holding down a starting spot in the Bundesliga than he does with the Toffees, plus there is the benefit of playing in the Europa League.

RoyalBlueMersey thinks…

It’s hard to see there being much truth in this one. First and foremost, all signs have been that both Marco Silva and Marcel Brands rate Ademola Lookman highly and intend to keep him around. The fact Brands wanted to sign him at PSV Eindhoven indicates he knows the 20-year-old is a special talent.

With that in mind, why would they put such a low price tag on his head? €20m in this market is a ridiculously low fee for a player of Lookman’s potential.

In addition, Leipzig already have two left wingers and two right wingers in the squad, and it is their most loaded position with up to seven players who can line up out wide.

Finally, the hybrid 4-2-2-2 scheme they play puts a lot of defensive responsibility on the wingers, which we have seen is not a strength of Lookman’s.

So unless Silva and Brands have directly told the youngster that they are bringing in a proven starter at wing (like Malcom or Hirving Lozano), the claims that Lookman wants out are quite strange.