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Everton's Ademola Lookman has admitted that transfer speculation unsettled him this summer but has thanked his England Under-21 manager Aidy Boothroyd for the home truths that helped him regain his focus.

The Blues winger seemingly had his heart set on a move to RB Leipzig after a successful loan spell over the second half of last season but with the Bundesliga club unwilling to offer a satisfactory fee for an English player of the 21-year-old's age and potential, Goodison Park chiefs remained adamant that Lookman was staying put with new manager Marco Silva confirming that he was part of his plans.

Such uncertainty resulted in some lacklustre performances on the pitch and Boothroyd criticised Lookman after last month's 2-1 win over Latvia.

However, the player responded by scoring in a man-of-the-match display in England U21s 7-0 thrashing of minnows Andorra at Chesterfield on Thursday.

Lookman acknowledged that Boothroyd's harsh words actually worked when it came to getting him back on track.

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He said: “It's very important (to hear criticism) because you can get caught up in this bubble.

“When someone tells you, is real with you and tells you the truth it allows you to think and bring yourself back to reality.

“He spoke to me about it but I've just tried to put it behind me and move forward. I'm at Everton and I will do my best and train hard.

“I did (think the comments were fair). I feel more settled now, the transfer window is behind me so I'm getting my head down and working hard.

“You want to play, that's my objective, and I hope to do that soon. What's out of my hands is out of my hands.”

(Image: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Lookman's only start this season was in the Carabao Cup exit against Southampton when he was given the hook on the hour-mark while his two substitute appearances in the Premier League have amounted to just 46 minutes of playing time.

The former Charlton Athletic man admits he doesn't know when he'll be able to break into Silva's side.

Lookman said: “I couldn't tell you, I don't know. There's competition but I'm always in competition with myself.

“I can only affect what I can affect and that's all I'm working on.

“I wouldn't call it frustration. It's just opportunity, I haven't had as much opportunity as I would have liked and I need to keep going forward and working hard. I can't just stop, I've got to keep going.”