Atlanta forward Ademola Lookman has admitted that joining the Super Eagles was the “big turning point of his career”, Afrosport reports.
Lookman featured for England at U-19 U-20 and U-21 but was out to favour to be called up by the Three Lions as their left wing was stacked with names like Raheem Sterling, Jason Sancho and Marcus Rashford.
The 27-year-old had to switch allegiance to Nigeria where he has been given the ground and space to display his abilities since his debut in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers match against Ghana.
Lookman has groomed himself to become one of the big personalities in the Super Eagles dressing room after his impressive display that aided Nigeria to reach the 2023 AFCON finals.
He also scored three goals and provided an assist in the course of the competition.
The former Fulham player told Sporty TV confidently that he has no regrets joining the Super Eagles, he feels it was the best decision he made for his career.
“It was massive for me because that was really a big turning point in my career. Ever since I’ve put on the Super Eagles jersey, it has been fruitful,” he said.
“We have been able to achieve together as a team and we are still growing as a team. The togetherness of the team is something that is very special within the squad.
“We showed that in the last Afcon, we got to the final but unfortunately we came up a bit short.
“The foundations are there and it’s just a fantastic feeling to be able to hold that with pride, to say I’m representing my country.”
Lookman’s heroics are not limited to the Super Eagles alone as he was instrumental to Atalanta’s Europa League victory along with the monstrous hatrick performance in the final against Bayer Leverkusen.
Furthermore, he finished in 14th place in the 2024 Ballon d’Or rankings as the sole African nominee, and is also running for the CAF African Footballer of the Year award.
