Ademola Lookman departs for Everton


Ademola Lookman has joined Premier League side Everton for an undisclosed fee.
 
The forward signed for the Addicks, aged 16, from Sunday League side Waterloo FC in 2014 after impressing in a game for the London FA against the club's U16s.
  
Charlton manager Karl Robinson said: “Ademola is an incredible talent and has been a joy to work with during my short stint at the club. After a rapid rise through our academy system, he has been on the radar of Premier League clubs for some time.
 
“The club rejected a substantial bid for him in the summer and to Ademola’s great credit, he really knuckled down and underlined his potential.
 
“My job now is to make sure we continue to get stronger on the pitch. We have a good squad already in place, key players to come back from injury and some new players to come in before the window closes. Our goal this season remains a top six spot and our focus is to add further quality signings in January to put us in a position to achieve that.”
 
Charlton have the seventh highest productivity of any club in England in terms of bringing academy players into the first team and this is something that the club are very proud of. Last season 14 academy-developed players appeared in the Addicks' first team, while four youngsters have made their first-team debuts this term. So far, a total of 12 academy graduates have represented the first team in 2016/17. 
 
Charlton CEO Katrien Meire said: “We have a fantastic academy here and it is testament to everyone at the club that Charlton continues to develop high-quality young players.
 
“Our intention was not to sell Ademola, we are very sad to see him go and our long-term ambition is that we get ourselves into a position where our talented young players, even when there is interest from Premier League clubs, want to stay with us.”
 
Ademola Lookman said: “I am very grateful to everyone at Charlton for the opportunity I have been given. I’ve loved every minute of being here but when the chance to join Everton came in, it wasn’t one I could turn down.
 
“I’ll always remember my first game at The Valley and the support I received from the fans. I really hope the lads go on to achieve promotion this season. The players, the fans and everyone at the club deserves it.”
 
In total Lookman made 49 appearances for the Addicks in all first team competitions, scoring 12 goals. During his time at the club, he won the LFE Apprentice of the Year for the Championship at the 2016 Football League Awards and was voted by supporters as their Young Player of the Year for 2015/16.
 
Everyone at Charlton wishes him well in his future career. 

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