Ademola Lookman's journey of thrills, skills and occasional spills from south London "cages" to European glory.

Lessons for the game in late-starter's current prominence.

Ademola Lookman, hat-trick hero of the Europa League final, used to play a game called “kerbs” growing up in south London. When space was found on estates for street games, Lookman mastered the trick of playing 1-2s off the curb to beat an opponent.

Lookman shows all his technique to score his third. Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty

       It was a skill that served him well for amateur side Waterloo and in the cages of south London that have produced so much talent, including Jadon Sancho, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi. You had to be quick and brave and skilful, operating in tight spaces, avoiding the unforgiving metal, not going to ground on the harsh concrete, relying on your wits and tricks like “kerbs” to elude older players often affronted at Lookman’s trickery.