Scouting Liverpool Transfer Target Ademola Lookman

With much of Jurgen Klopp's transfer business conducted early in the summer, the Liverpool manager looks set to spend the remainder of the window tying up loose ends and fleshing out his squad when injuries and opportunities dictate—with a move for 18-year-old Charlton Athletic forward Ademola Lookman firmly of the latter.

According to the Mirror's Darren Witcoop, Liverpool are among four clubs interested in signing Lookman this summer, joined by fellow Premier League hopefuls Arsenal in heading those looking to seal a deal ahead of 2016/17.

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Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton are also named as possible destinations for the England under-19 international, with all four clubs reportedly sending scouts to watch Lookman at this summer's European Under-19 Championship in Germany.

The quartet of top-flight clubs are said to be willing to pay up to £2 million to secure Lookman's signature, as the Premier League's youth recruitment drive continues.

Unlike Spurs' recent success story Dele Alli, however, Lookman remains something of an unknown quantity, with Liverpool scouts hoping to unearth a potential gem ready to make the step up from League One to the Premier League.

So who is Lookman, and what could he bring the Reds if he were to make the move this summer?

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Ademola Lookman

Born in south-west London in 1997, Lookman was playing youth football with Lambeth side Waterloo FC from the age of 11 and remained with the charitable outfit until 2014 when he was picked up by Charlton's fruitful academy setup.

Before that, however, Lookman told Tony's Soccer School of his confidence as a young footballer, saying he possessed the "passion and desire" to succeed, as well as highlighting his qualities as a player:

"

I see myself as a game-changing player and who can take the game by the scruff of its neck and make an immediate impact. I am very talented with both of my feet and I can shoot and pass with both [my] left and right feet. I believe [an] academy director should give me a trial because I believe I have what it takes to become a footballer.

"

This drive saw Lookman excel on his arrival at The Valley, initially turning out for Charlton's under-16s side and progressing swiftly through the ranks at under-18 and under-21 level, with the latter seeing him establish himself under academy manager Steve Avory.

Speaking to BT Sport towards the beginning of the 2015/16 campaign, Avory highlighted Lookman's potential as a young player, as well as Charlton's role in developing him and youth colleagues as upstanding characters.

While Avory spent time focusing on Lookman's outlook off the pitch, on it, the youngster was letting his feet do the talking. After making his Addicks debut at 18, in a 1-0 defeat to MK Dons in the Championship, the versatile attacker quickly imposed himself on the Charlton first team.

Scoring both goals in Charlton's 2-2 draw with Bolton Wanderers at the end of 2015, Lookman outlined his qualities as a young player:

Able to play in a number of roles in the attacking line, including as an auxiliary striker, Lookman is at his best operating on the left wing, and he proved this against the Trotters, drifting inside to beat goalkeeper Ben Amos with a pair of instinctive efforts—one from his left foot, one from his right.

This was Lookman's seventh league appearance for Charlton, and the teenager went on to feature in 24 Championship games in 2015/16, scoring five goals and laying on one assist. He excelled despite considerable unrest in the dugout, the boardroom and the stands, going on to win the club's Young Player of the Year award.

At 18, Lookman is a valuable asset for Charlton, as the latest in a long line of young stars to come out of the south-east London side's youth setup—including the Reds' own Joe Gomez—but he would likely play a different role under Klopp at Liverpool.

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Role at Liverpool

As reported in the South London Press at the end of July, new Charlton manager Russell Slade acknowledged the growing interest in Lookman, but he also hinted at a key role for the youngster in his first-team squad for 2016/17.

"He has had attention, there's no doubt about that," he said. "The more games he plays for England he's going to attract more attention but he is with us and we’re hopeful he might get some football on Tuesday as well."

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Lookman returned for Charlton's 0-0 pre-season draw with Ipswich Town and came on as a second-half substitute in their 2-0 league defeat to Bury on the opening day of the League One campaign, as he continues to improve his fitness following a gruelling summer with the England under-19s.

But while Lookman is set to compete with Morocco international Zakarya Bergdich for a starting role at The Valley, he would likely drop down to Michael Beale's under-23s ranks if he joined the Reds this summer.

Klopp is already able to call upon Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mane, Lazar Markovic, Danny Ings and Sheyi Ojo as regular options on the left flank, with the likes of Roberto Firmino, Adam Lallana and Divock Origi also able to deputise in the role, highlighting the challenge ahead of Lookman on Merseyside if he sealed a move.

The Liverpool under-23s head into the new season with a different approach, as Klopp and Beale look to work together to navigate the revamped Premier League 2 setup.

Academies will now be able to field any number of players aged 23 and under, along with three overage players and a goalkeeper, ensuring a more considerable challenge for younger stars as they are nurtured for a future first-team role.

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Despite this, speaking to the Liverpool Echo's Andy Kelly at the end of July, Beale said he was looking to field a squad with an "average age of 19" this season—and Lookman would fit within this system.

There, he would be vying with such young stars as Harry Wilson, Brooks Lennon and Toni Gomes for a starting role, but given Lookman's quality, and his experience with Charlton in the Championship, he should have the edge—and, as Klopp detailed in August, he is looking for this depth of quality in the academy.

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Klopp's Youth Focus

Speaking to Kelly's Liverpool Echo colleague James Pearce on the eve of the 2016/17 season, Klopp outlined his vision to call upon 20 academy players within his first-team squad at Liverpool:

"

Last season we had [Sheyi] Ojo, [Cameron] Brannagan, [Connor] Randall, [Brad] Smith, [Kevin] Stewart and [Pedro] Chirivella who played in real games for the first-team.

We’ve had Ben Woodburn, Ovie Ejaria and Trent [Alexander-Arnold playing for us in the friendly games. Shamal George has been in a good way too.

That’s eight or nine. What do we want? We want 20 of this quality.

It’s a big number of players. We have to create better situations to make them better.

"

This aligns with a quote from former Liverpool academy director Frank McParland in 2012, who told The Anfield Wrap's Sachin Nakrani that "the target is to have 50 per cent of the first-team squad having coming through the academy."

As Klopp listed in his testimony towards his youth-development record so far at Liverpool, the German has provided first-team experience to a number of young players on Merseyside.

Players 22 and Under to Feature Under Klopp, 2015/16

• Emre Can (22)—38 appearances
• Jordon Ibe (20)—33 appearances
• Divock Origi (21)—29 appearances
• Kevin Stewart (22)—11 appearances
• Sheyi Ojo (19)—11 appearances
• Brad Smith (22)—10 appearances
• Cameron Brannagan (20)—eight appearances
• Connor Randall (20)—seven appearances
• Jerome Sinclair (19)—two appearances
• Pedro Chirivella (19)—one appearance
• Joe Maguire (20)—one appearance
• Jordan Rossiter (19)—one appearance
• Sergi Canos (19)—one appearance
• Ryan Kent (19)—one appearance

(All data courtesy of Transfermarkt.co.uk.)

While Ibe, Smith, Sinclair, Rossiter and Canos have all departed the club this summer, Klopp is clearly enamoured with the energy and vibrancy of young players—but, crucially, only if they are capable.

With Klopp looking to inject further quality into his squad through Liverpool’s academy ranks in the future, the addition of the confident, multi-talented Lookman—who has shown his effortless ability to step up a considerable rung in recent years—would aid him in this pursuit of success through the virtues of youth.

Statistics via Transfermarkt.co.uk.

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