Charlton Athletic player set to emulate Ademola Lookman, Everton transfer switch | OneFootball

The Toffees have agreed a deal to bring the teenager in from The Valley.

Charlton Athletic starlet Reuben Gokah is closing in on a move to Premier League side Everton, according to reports.

London has always been one of the biggest and best producers of footballing talent in England, purely because of the size of the city, the chances of professionals coming from the nation's capital are much higher because of the amount of people who play football and, therefore, the number of highly skilled players they come against.

It's no wonder, then, that there are so many teams in the EFL and the top flight that are based in London, Charlton being one of them.

Their academy has been notoriously producing top-level players for years on end. Joe Gomez, Ezri Konsa, Ademola Lookman and Nick Pope have all gone on to play in the Premier League, having graduated from the Addicks' youth system.

Lookman went straight from The Valley to Goodison Park, a path that Gokah - one of the club's current top youngsters - could be set to follow.

Reuben Gokah set to emulate Ademola Lookman's Everton move

The central defender has been targeted by the Toffees, who believe he could be a star in the making, and have agreed a deal with Charlton to allow the 16-year-old to continue his development at Finch Farm, as per Alan Nixon.

The Addicks, unfortunately, won't get anywhere near the initial £7.5 million they received for their winger back in 2017, though.

Gokah has played at the under-15 and under-16 levels for England. His agents, Roc Nation, who represent top athletes across the globe, describe him on their website as "a commanding presence on the field, known for his calm and composed ball control. Defensively, he excels at dominating attackers with his strength and breaking down attacks through his excellent positioning".

Charlton have a decent number of academy graduates in their first-team, who won promotion to the Championship via the play-offs last month. Winger Tyreece Campbell, 21, started the play-off final at Wembley against Leyton Orient, while Karoy Anderson, 20, and Micah Mbick, 18, made substitute appearances.

Charlton's academy brilliance comes with bittersweet consequences

The club's hierachy would have hoped that a player like Gokah could have followed in the footsteps of that trio and made an impact on their first-team, but the likes of Charlton are always going to be at risk of losing their youthful talent when a bigger team like Everton comes calling.

It will be frustrating for them that they won't be able to keep the teenager long enough to fully benefit from his potential, but it is a more than positive sign that Charlton's academy system is continuing to thrive.