Everton midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson has said that the Toffees wanted to keep Ademola Lookman but they could not do so as the attacker was determined to secure gametime elsewhere. The England youth international was barely offered a regular starting role under Marco Silva last term and this has eventually seen him part ways with the side to join RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.

In a report covered by Goal.com, Sigurdsson said: “He is a very good player. Hopefully got a very bright future ahead of him. He is very talented. He probably felt he was that stage where he wanted to play. Of course it is difficult – the club probably wanted to keep him because of his ability but it is a good deal for the club and everyone here wishes him the best.”

Lookman had an impressive loan stint with Leipzig during the backend of the 2017/18 campaign where he contributed five goals and three assists from just 11 matches. He was thereafter linked with a permanent move to the German giants last summer, but the deal did not go through with Silva wanting the youngster to stay put with the Toffees.

However, the 2018/19 season did not go as planned with the restricted gametime and he ended the campaign with just three league starts. At Leipzig, Lookman has now been offered with another chance to redeem himself and hopefully, he can find the purple patch from the previous stint such that he can knock the doors of the national team.

Meanwhile, the Toffees have made good business for the attacker with around £22m recouped from the sale and it remains to be seen whether they can make the best use of the money gained. Of late, the club have been linked with a £60m swoop for Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha whereby Cenk Tosun could be used as a makeweight.