RB Leipzig would consider making a permanent move for on-loan winger Ademola Lookman but admit the ball is in Everton’s court when it comes to any possible deal.
Lookman joined the German side at the end of the January transfer window despite having loan offers from elsewhere - notably, a number of top sides in the Sky Bet Championship.
“Mola has shown that he is more than just a desperate last-minute signing,” Leipzig sporting director Ralf Rangnick told KICKER.
“If it were down to us, I’d already know the answer,” Rangnick was quoted as saying.
“I think that we can only answer the question once the season’s finished. It also depends on what happens at Everton.”
Everton boss Sam Allardyce said he was ‘reluctant’ to let the 20-year-old leave for Germany but also said Lookman got his own way as he was ‘adamant’ to join Die Roten Bullen.
Since joining the high-flying German side, Lookman has made seven Bundesliga appearances and finding the net on two. He scored a vital second-half goal in Sunday’s 1-1 draw away at Werder Bremen.
His only other goal came on his Bundesliga debut as he scored an 88th-minute winner against Borussia Monchengladbach - becoming the first English goalscorer in the Bundesliga since Owen Hargreaves.
Allardyce’s Everton had been comfortably beaten 5-1 by Arsenal only a couple of hours prior.
Strangely out of favour
Now, with Allardyce’s future at Goodison Park in question, so too is Lookman’s.
The highly rated 20-year-old was also said to be of interest to Tottenham Hotspur last summer after failing to consistently be named to Everton first-team team sheets under former boss Ronald Koeman.
Despite breaking on to the scene with a debut goal in the 4-0 win over Manchester City, Lookman had fluttered in and out of Koeman’s line-ups and fell even further out of favour when Allardyce took over the reigns.
However, his ability has never been in question with plenty of fans calling for his inclusion over the past 12 months.
Those fans may be left wondering ‘what if,’ if Lookman is set to depart this summer.