Everton's Ademola Lookman has told FourFourTwo he can’t stop watching his debut strike against Manchester City.
The 19-year-old sealed an £11 million move from Charlton Athletic in January, which made him the most expensive signing ever from a League One club.
The forward was quick to show the Goodison Park faithful what he can do, scoring with just his second touch in the 4-0 dismantling of Pep Guardiola’s side.
I’ve watched the goal back 100 times. When the ball came to me, I was thinking, ‘I’m one-on-one with the keeper, I can actually score.’ I don’t think that I smiled until after I came off the pitch
Speaking exclusively in the April 2017 issue of FourFourTwo magazine, out now, Lookman says: “I’ve watched the goal back 100 times. When the ball came to me, I was thinking, ‘I’m one-on-one with the keeper, I can actually score’.
“If you see my expression, I don’t think that I smiled until after I came off the pitch – that’s how shocked I was. Scoring on my debut, nothing gets better than that.
“My team-mates and coaches gave me a round of applause as I walked into the dressing room and signed my shirt – it was a great moment.”
Lookman was playing Sunday League football as recently as 2014, but was named the Championship’s Apprentice of the Year last season after scoring five goals in 24 appearances and has since represented England at under-19 and under-20 level.
A further seven strikes for the Addicks in 2016/17 convinced the Toffees to splash the cash on the teenager, but he still had to quickly integrate himself into a new environment filled with stars. Fortunately, Lookman found two willing mentors.
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Romelu Lukaku and Yannick Bolasie have really helped me to settle in. They have both told me to not be afraid and to keep expressing myself on the pitch – that’s what got me here
“Romelu [Lukaku] and Yannick [Bolasie] have really helped me to settle in,” he says. “They have both told me to not be afraid and to keep expressing myself on the pitch – that’s what got me here. I shouldn’t stop doing it just because I’m at a different level now.
“I sat down in the dressing room after the first training session thinking, ‘This is what I want’. Now I’m here, I’ve got to keep working hard.”
Read the full interview with Ademola Lookman in the April 2017 issue of FourFourTwo magazine. Featuring some of the best young players in the world, we talk to Dele Alli about fame, his unlimited potential and his pooch Hugo, sing Happy Birthday to Bayern Munich whiz kid Joshua Kimmich and check in with Borussia Dortmund's up-and-comers Christian Pulisic, Julian Weigl, Raphael Guerreiro, Ousmane Dembele and Alexander Isak. Plus, we find out more about Milan's 18-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who’s already the heir to namesake Buffon as Italy’s No.1. Elsewhere, Newcastle Enfield entertain Sunderland RCA in the ‘other Tyne-Wear derby’, Colchester keeper Dean Brill reveals the unglamorous reality of a deadline-day transfer and we go One-on-One with Damien Duff. Order it now, then subscribe!
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Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.
