Arsenal are reportedly planning a January move for Everton forward Ademola Lookman.
Struggles after fast rise
The 19-year-old, who joined the Toffees from Charlton Athletic in January this year for a reported £11million made a bright start to his career in Merseyside, scoring on his debut in 4-0 victory over Manchester City.
However seven games into the season, Lookman is still waiting for his first appearance in the Premier League and the Gunners are keen to test Everton's resolve, however strong it may be.
It has been a meteoric rise for Wandsworth-born Lookman, in 2014 he was playing Sunday League football for Waterloo, before he joined the academy at Charlton Athletic. He soon made his debut for the first team in November 2015, before being touted by numerous Premier League clubs, such as Everton.
Despite struggling to consistently claim a first eleven place, Lookman has made numerous impressive performances for England’s youth teams, especially the U20’s, with whom he won the World Cup in South Korea this summer, scoring three goals in five appearances.
U21 player
His performances at that level led to his first call up for the U21’s last month, and on his debut against the Netherlands he set up Everton team-mate Dominic Calvert-Lewin for England’s goal in a 1-1 draw.
Planning for the the inevitable
Lookman is not the only quick forward the Gunners have been linked with in recent weeks. They are also rumoured to be interested in Manchester United’s Anthony Martial, who has started this season in strong form for the Red Devils, scoring five goals in all competitions.
There is a strong possibility Manchester City will return to Arsenal with a bid for Chilean Striker Alexis Sanchez in the new year, or at least next summer, making sense of links to Lookman and Martial as possible replacements for the gunners' star man.