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/Turkish Super Lig outfit Besiktas will look to sign Ademola Lookman from Bundesliga club RB Leipzig this summer.
Lookman linked up with Leipzig last summer from Premier League club Everton but failed to earn a regular playing berth at the German side.
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The 22-year-old had a successful loan spell at Leipzig before the club decided to acquire him permanently.
According to reports emanating from Turkey, Besiktas representatives are already in talks with Leipzig officials over the transfer.
Lookman has featured in just six league games this season.
13 Comments
Just go, if only to get back those regular games back. Your fantastic talent should never be seating on the bench.
Lookman is someone am still looking forward to in the Super Eagles. He has the talent! He’s a destined-great baller. His dribbles and runs are always top-notch. I’ve been following him keenly this season in the BundesLiga and even while he was at Everton.
Sadly, he’s not fitting in Julian Nagelsmann formation this season and that’s why he’s been benched mostly. When he first came on loan, Julian wasn’t the Coach then and the Former Coach formation was more of 4-2-3-1 formation which permits him a space on the wing and Timo Werner as the Lone Striker. But since Julian arrived, it’s been more of Timo Werner moving from the Wing to the Center Forward role in like a 4-4-2 formation. Mostly Julian lines up Midfielders in the Middle 4 thereby keeping LOOKMAN on the bench most times.
So I’ll advice him to please make the move to Besiktas and work very hard to get playing time well there or better still move to English Championship; there are clubs that will hurriedly sign him up there cuz they know him well with his talent
Hmmm…Insightful. Thanks and thumbs up
Thank you Chairmanfemi. Because of your eloquently written piece, I went on YouTube to watch clips of Ademola Lookman and found what a potential exceptional talent that the young man is.
To lend credence to your write-up, Ademola Lookman had enjoyed considerable success in his first stint at Leipzig on loan during the second half of the 2017/18 season. Out of a possible 14, Lookman played 11 games, scoring 5 goals (1 goal per 2 games) and providing 3 assists.
At the back of such productive period, it was a no-brainer for the former England World Cup winner at under 20 level to choose to go back to Germany. Sadly, he was not to know that a change in approach, tactics, orientation and formation of the coach this time around would mean that he would be nowhere as successful as he was the last time.
It is rather unfortunate.
Indeed, having seen Lookman’s dribbling abilities, purposeful play, delicate technique and dynamism at the final third, it a waste of abundant talent to see such a pedigree languish on the bench.
It is time to move!
And this time, Lookman and his agents should be wary so that he doesn’t – for the second season in a row – find himself in a club whose coach’s philosophy are at odds with what he has to offer.
It is time for Lookman to shine (again).
…black players are hardly trusted as good enough, and often struggle to flourish in the German Bundesliga! Often… you will see mediocre German and Europeans boys getting game time ahead of very good and talented black players! The racist mentality of the Germans have not been put away… I have lived in Hamburg, Bremen and now Kaiserslautern! Did Lookman Ademola, a guy who did so well at first stint become all of sudden a player who cannot adapt to tactics? The answer is a big no… Even Obafemi Martins who is a strong, Consistent, Speedy and Efficient player was sparingly started in games at Vfl Wolfsburg!
Made it more better @Deo. Always mastery with your piece..kudos.
@JimmyBall, I couldn’t have agreed less with your write-up. You’re absolutely right. That Racist part is another topic entirely…I think I also once complained something like that on this Website few weeks ago. Imagine in England now, one Bellingham that is not as half as good as Nwakali, is Rumoured to be chased by same Arsenal where Nwakali was for years and they never gave him a single chance till they nearly ruin his career. I took time to go and watch this Bellingham of a guy and just conclude to give him a _Kingsley Michael_ comparison. No where close to K.Nwakali at all and see the hype English Football sites have given him like he’s the next big thing!
Julian Nagglesman alone, is another coach that i know so well with this player Favouritism. When you don’t fit in to his game plan, it’s a sorry case for you. He displayed this attitude clearly while he was at Hoffeinheim. Most players are getting on the score sheet weekly before the season was paused now at Hoffeinheim and they were never considered for Match day squad under him.
To worsen the whole case, if he doesn’t like you…like I guess he does to Lookman. Cuz I wonder with his hunger for young talents being a Young Man in his 32-33 years of age, how he gets to see Lookman in training week in week out and decides to keep him on the Bench. There was a game he gave LOOKMAN the chance in an unfamiliar Deep role in the Right-Midfield and he(Lookman) laid a back-pass wrongly against Frankfurt and that made them loose the match I think. After that match, I knew the worst was yet to come for Lookman under Julian. Well, I was right I think…he never tasted action again since then and was not even named for Match day most times.
LOOKMAN – Please make the move away instata. God bless you #NaijaBoy
It is true racism exist.
It is something one can hardly run from.
But I am not one to quickly jump on the racism bandwagon in terms of Lookman’s lapse in Leipzig.
For me,that has nothing to do with racism but more to a coach’s preference.
Lookman isn’t the only black player in Rb’s colours.
There are Nkunku,Konate,Upamecano and the Guinean, Haidara.
All Black and blossoming under Nagelsman. Key figures too.
And to say Nigerian players (or black players in general) hasn’t been given the chance or done well in the German Bundesliga is far fetched.
We have had Ujah,Akpborie,Agali,Ojigwe at some point,not forgetting Balogun,all did good in Germany and off course our new boys, Collins and Ehizibue ; both having good times.
The Germans could be racist but one thing the Germans take pride in is professionalism,productivity and hardwork.
They take that over their own any day,any time. And I am talking from my personal experience relating with German in all capacity.
Why do you think they got Black Germans playing for the die manschafft ?
The fact is Lookman is exceptional,he is talented but not really consistent with his game,especially with his end product( similar situation is arising with Chukwueze). It is a personal thing.
Lookman lost his ship at Everton cause of this.He blows hot and cold.
He just need to lift his game more and be consistent.
And yes,he does needs a move;cause he needs a coach that would be patient with him and coach him through. The talent is there,no doubt.
And about the Europeans always hyping their own,even if they aren’t as good as ours; off course,every one would always hype their own,it is only normal to push your kid especially when you run the show.
It just tells us to work harder to knock off the Prince from the King’s table.
It is tough but it is life.
@Mr Hush …I stand by my comment, I wrote and mentioned the case with Obafemi Martins also, mind you, Anthony Ujah is my hometown guy and we played football together, he is not a regular at Union Berlin, he comes in as sub but in that role he has often decided games for them. In this day and age, it is no longer open racism, it’s favoritism, you will made to feel surplus to requirement, if you played football you will know that a young player at 21/22 is not often a finished product yet at that age… you need the confidence of your coach and encouragement, once a coach does not like you such that his belief is very little about you… you can have the talent of Ronaldo da Lima, you wont play. How come a player who did so well at first under someone else, was deemed good enough and bought outrightly at a very high fee, only to not fit in a new coach’s plan… mmind you, if he was german born, he wont be treated that way… he will be tolerated and allowed match-practice to build confidence and consistency… Lookman has only played six games this whole season out of over 28 games… what such a situation does to a player is make him loose belief in himself. What happened that Victor Osimhen just became a power-puncher of a striker the moment he left Vfl Wolfsburg? Even Obafemi Martins was made to look ordinary at Vfl Wolfsburg… a guy who has proven himself in an Inter Milan with the likes of Adriano, Balloteli, Crespo and Cordoba… ofcourse there are black players in bundesliga doing well… but in Europe, you have to be five times better than the homeboy to play ahead of him… you are free to differ in opinion anyways… but I know how these folks will push their own and I dont blame them… even in England, it is so!
…fundamentally, I mentioned, most black players are not often allowed to flourish, in essence that means patience with a young player and support… Chrisantus Macaulay was murdered in HSV Hamburg and casted away to lower divisions of German football… Victor Osimhen almost suffered same fate at Vfl Wolfsburg… sometimes these big teams expect so much from youngsters instantly, who could otherwise have flourished from a steady progress… some people said Macaulay was too old at U-17, even Kanu Nwankwo was old in his time… but Macaulay is still playing till date in Greece…
Nice Write up Mr Hush.
But note; I never said Lookman isn’t playing at Leipzig due to Racism by Coach Nagglesman because am also aware of loads of Black players in the team.
I gave two main reasons; Player’s preference by Julian as you’ve highlighted(I used “Favouritism” in my write up above) and I also talked about LOOKMAN not fitting in to Nagglesman’s Game plan/Formation (in my initial comment)
@ChairmanFemi
Appreciation.
my write up was a response to @Jimmyball.
Oh.. Alright. You’re welcome Mr Hush
I enjoyed all the comments and analysis.They were superb,concise and extravagantly exciting. You guys almost made me feel as if I’m watching the beautiful game again despite the corona virus threat. Thank you for the write ups. I learnt Ademola Lookman has submitted his application to FIFA for a possible nationality switch from England to Nigeria. Please how true is the story?