‘I Want To Excite The Fans’ – Lookman On Leicester Loan Switch
The 23-year-old winger has played in English football’s top three divisions, represented England at various youth levels and starred in European competition over a rapid rise since beginning his career at Charlton Athletic at the age of 18 six years ago.
A winner of the 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup, Lookman exhibited his talents once again in 2020/21 while on loan at Fulham in the Premier League, notably scoring against the Foxes at King Power Stadium, but now he is ready to adorn Leicester’s colours this season.
“Most definitely, I’m delighted to be here,” the former Everton winger told LCFC TV after agreeing to join the Club on Tuesday. “It’s a great honour to be at such a big and amazing club with such a huge history and a quality group of players.
“The facilities are incredible. It’s pretty mind-blowing and I just can’t wait to get to work here. I think environment is very important for a player, so this is the right environment for me to work hard every single day and to help my craft be even better.
“I’m very, very excited to see the fans and to be in the stadium with a lot of fans. I’m just looking forward to playing out there with my new team-mates and doing the best I can and hopefully getting lots of goals and assists for the team. I’ll try to help the team in any way.”
Lookman is friends with several of Brendan Rodgers’ first team squad – after playing alongside them for England’s various teams – which is another source of excitement for the Wandsworth-born wide man.
“I know a few of the players here, obviously from playing with them in the England set-up, and it’s a young and exciting group with a lot of power,” he added.
“I know James Maddison, Hamza Choudhury and Harvey Barnes. I think this is the right environment for me to improve and grow as a player and as a person. I still have a lot to improve on. This is the place for me. That’s what I want to be involved in, and I’m just happy to be a part of this project.”
Lookman was also motivated by his early conversations with Rodgers, a manager with a reputation for developing exciting, young talents and playing a key role in progressing their careers. The on-loan Leicester winger is now ready to improve under his guidance.
“I’ve had the chance to speak to him and he’s one of the big reasons why I decided to join this club because obviously he’s a coach who develops a lot of players into even better and great players,” he explained.
“That was the most important thing, to want to improve and be better. That’s what I want to do every single day. In my game, in terms of creativity and goals and assists, I like to create space and I see myself as an exciting player. I want to be exciting and I want to be a player that gets fans off their seats.
“That’s what I look to do and I’ll look to help the team and work hard.”
The former Charlton man could make his Leicester debut against Manchester City in the Premier League on 11 September, while he will also be hopeful of featuring when Napoli visit Filbert Way on matchday one in the UEFA Europa League group stage.
Now he’s on board, Lookman is eager to help Leicester on all fronts as the Club looks to add to a trophy cabinet which was swelled by the Emirates FA Cup last term.
“The chance to play in Europe is always attractive to any player who gets the chance to play there,” he continued. “I’m blessed to be here and to be a part of this club. I’ll give my all.
“The Premier League is the best league in the world and, with it, comes a lot of great players, as you can see in this team and many other teams. As a player, you want to win trophies and you want to be successful playing football. You want to enjoy doing that and enjoy working hard every single day.
“I’m just excited to be a part of it.”