Southgate insists he will battle to prevent Everton's Ademola Lookman from playing for Nigeria

ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate have revealed that he will put up a spirited fight to keep hold of Everton striker Ademola Lookman in a bid to prevent Nigeria laying their hands on the player and acquiring him for the Super Eagles.

Lookman, 20, is currently an England youth international, having played for the U21 team after joining Everton from Charlton Athletic. He is currently out on loan to German side RB Leipzig, where he career has blossomed since he began seeing regular action at the club, which is keen to sign him permanently.

Earlier this week, Lookman confirmed that he is willing to consider playing for Nigeria having been approached by Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr. Fifa regulations state that after turning 21 a player can switch their allegiance once and only if they have not played for a competitive game for the men’s senior team, which Lookman has not.

Following the approach form the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Lookman was prepared to begin switching his allegiance through Fifa but Mr Southgate has decided he wants the player, so will try to stop the process. Mr Southgate is confident he can keep the player despite the pressure from the NFF.

Mr Southgate said: “I know every country is quite aggressive in their recruiting and I know they have always had an interest in him but he is playing and has been in our squads, the 20s, 21s. So in terms of encouragement through game time, we are doing as much as we possibly can.”

Last week, Lookman was called up by Aidy Boothroyd last week for England’s Under-21 side for the Euro 2019 qualifiers but he was not in the matchday squad. Over the last year, Lookman has been at the centre of a tug of war between Everton and Leipzig, with the German side desperate to sign him permanently but the Merseyside giants have held out.