Silva clarifies Everton position on Lookman

The Ademola Lookman saga at Everton has rumbled on in the background all summer long.

After being alienated last season by Sam Allardyce, the young winger went off to RB Leipzig on loan in January in spite of Big Sam’s insistence that he stay in England. At the Bundesliga side he was able to make an immediate impact mostly as a substitute, scoring five times and assisting a further four goals in just eleven appearances.

There was talk after he returned to England that the German team would come back for him despite the Blues not putting in a deal-to-buy in the loan contract, and so it has proved as Leipzig have lodged three separate bids, all progressively increasing a small step at a time.

The media sources tell us that Everton have set a price tag of £20million, but Leipzig are yet to meet that number even though apparently the player wants the move as well. This would explain his visible disinterest when asked to warm up late in the preseason friendly on Saturday against Valencia. When he did come on for the final dozen or so minutes, most fans were immediately irritated by the lackadaisical manner he drifted about with Everton chasing the game.

However, in this Guardian interview, manager Marco Silva wasn’t having any of it, insisting that he’ll be staying at Goodison Park.

“He is our player and he stays.”

You feel there’s more to come in this story still. Remember, even though the transfer window for the Premier League closes on Thursday, players will still be free to leave for other clubs outside of England until the end of August.