Europa League HERO is inspired by one of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool legends

UEFA Europa League hero Ademola Lookman reportedly takes inspiration from one of Jurgen Klopp’s greatest Liverpool players.

Ademola Lookman wrote himself into the history books on Wednesday evening as he produced a sensational hattrick to win the UEFA Europa League for Atalanta. It's the club's first European trophy and their first major trophy of any kind since the 1960s.

Not only that, but they ended Bayer Leverkusen's record-breaking undefeated streak in the process. A remarkable achievement made all the more incredible by the quality of Lookman's goals.

Lookman had only actually scored twice in the previous 10 Europa League fixtures this season. He'd doubled that by half-time in Dublin - it was just his night.

Understandably, the 26-year-old is the talk of football after his performance. It led to a piece on him from The Times as they laid out exactly what took Lookman to this point.

And there was an interesting line on his inspirations. The piece mentions several across different sports, including NBA stars LeBron James and Damian Lillard.

There's only one footballer, though - Sadio Mané.

Sadio Mane - the inspiration

It's been two years since Mané left Liverpool for Bayern Munich - a transfer that didn't work out for the winger. He'd moved to Al-Nassr by the start of this season.

But while his career is winding down, Mané's impact on the game should stand for a long time. He's exactly the kind of player who inspires the next generation: an exciting, driven, successful star.

And in truth, Lookman's goals were very Mané-esque, especially the hattrick strike. Not that anyone should expect Lookman to be the 'next' Mané at Liverpool, given he's now 26.

This should only be one major example of a top player taking inspiration from Jurgen Klopp's great team, though. Mohamed Salah will certainly inspire a generation of wingers, while Virgil van Dijk will do the same at centre-back.

Let alone the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino, who essentially created new positions for themselves.

The Klopp era is over at Liverpool but its legacy should last for a very long time to come - both inside and outside of Anfield.