Manager says ‘magic’ player Everton sold back in 2019 gets his vote for the Ballon d’Or

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Everton are now in the middle of the second international break of the 2024/25 campaign following a tricky start to the new season.

It has been a much more optimistic past three games for Everton, though, with Sean Dyche‘s side finally putting some points on the board.

The Toffees enjoyed a fairly busy summer transfer window which saw a number of new faces come through the doors at Goodison Park.

There was also some exits with Everton selling the likes of Amadou Onana to Aston Villa as they battled against the PSR worries.

Everton have seen the likes of Iliman Ndiaye arrive over the summer and make a positive start to life on Merseyside.

However, there is now one former Everton player who is really making a name for himself on the European stage.

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Which player Everton sold who could now win the Ballon d’Or

After selling Ademola Lookman back in 2019 to RB Leipzig for £22m, the Nigeria international has been on a long path to his current success.

Having since played for Fulham and Leicester City it is only now at Atalanta where Lookman has really lived up to his true potential.

Last season, the winger helped the Italian outfit to getting their hands on the Europa League trophy with a stunning hat-trick in the final.

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Having been nominated for the 2024 Ballon d’Or, Lookman’s manager Gian Piero Gasperini has said his vote will be going to the 26-year-old.

“My personal Ballon d’Or vote would go to Ademola Lookman,” he told the Italian media.

“His magic skills helped us to win the Europa League.”

Everton were unable to discover current version of Ademola Lookman

Having spent time on Merseyside, Everton were not able to get this level of performance out of the Nigeria international.

In his 48 appearances for the Toffees, Lookman was only able to provide a return of four goals and two assists.

Whereas with the Italian side, Lookman has already returned three goals and three assists in his seven appearances this season.

It looks as if Everton have missed out on a real gem of a player and how they could do with a forward this prolific in their current side.

But it has to be noted that neither Leicester nor Fulham were able to extract Lookman’s current level of performance out of him.