At this time two years ago (start of the 2023-24 football season), Ademola Lookman probably did not know he was going to have a career-defining campaign with Atalanta.
He joined the Bergamo outfit at the start of the 2022-23 season after a futile three years at RB Leipzig and was able to hit a career best 15 goals in 33 competitive games in his maiden campaign in Italy.
Lookman took it up a notch the following season with 17 goals in 45 appearances, but this time was part of Atalanta’s finest moment when he became the first player to score a hat-trick in the Europa League final, which they won, and only the sixth player to do so in an European final.
Naija to the world π³π¬π@Atalanta_BC | #UEL pic.twitter.com/PTDkytinyC
β UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) December 16, 2024
The 27-year-old, who was considered average after uninspiring spells at Everton, Fulham and Leicester City in England, suddenly became one of the most-talked about forwards in the world, thanks to his qualities which earned him the 2024 CAF African Player of the Year awardΒ and polled 14th in the 2024 Ballon d’Or award.
Lookman took his goal tally further in the 2024-25 season with another career best 20 goals in 40 games but it was the beginning of the end of his joyful time in Atalanta after falling out with former boss Gian Piero Gasperini over a penalty miss in the 3-1 defeat to Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League knockout phase playoffs.
The Italian tactician, who moulded Lookman into a world beater, suddenly did not have nice things to say about the Nigerian, and it was clear his future was away from the Gewiss Stadium, and has since cleared all reference of Atalanta on his social media accounts.
Lookman Γ¨ il primo giocatore dell’Atalanta a essere nominato per il Pallone d’Oro π€©π€π
Ben fatto, Ademola πLookman is the first-ever Atalanta player to be nominated for the @ballondor π€©π€π
Well done, Ademola π#Lookman #GoAtalantaGo β«π΅β Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) September 4, 2024
This summer was however another battle for the the Wandsworth-born player after Atalanta rejected two bids from Inter Milan, with the club being clear on not selling him to an Italian rival, while a reported loan move to Bayern Munich failed to materialise, with the Bavarian giants opting for Senegal forward Nicolas Jackson on loan from Chelsea on transfer deadline day.
Lookman was not involved in pre-season with Atalanta and has not been part of any matchday squad after three Serie A games. Though he played in Nigeria’s two 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Rwanda and South Africa, his chances of being reintegrated into the first team appears very bleak even with two years left on his existing contract.
Ahead of Sunday’s Serie A game with Lecce, new boss Ivan Juric, asserted he will not beg Lookman to make his way back into the squad.
βLookman wonβt be with us. Itβs a truly unpleasant situation,β he said.
βAfter a meeting with him, I feel we need other things β spirit, fight, humility, work, guys who have to feel the shirt well. Our guys have to do that. I donβt want anything else.
βI want a different human level, a different sense of belonging. I have a good relationship with him, but I donβt have to ask him. Damn, weβre Atalanta, I donβt have to beg him. He needs strong, human values.β
Lookman was registered for this season’s UEFA Champions LeagueΒ but the above comments from Juric clearly point to the fact the former Charlton Athletic man will not be involved with Europe’s elites which begins with Wednesday’s away trip to reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain.
This is a very damning situation for a player who had the world at his feet just over a year ago. It is much worse for him because it is not even certain if he will get a move in January or next summer.
ππππππππππππ ππ
Lookman is the @CAF_Online Menβs Player of the Year ππ³π¬@Alookman_ Γ¨ il Giocatore Africano dell’Anno π€π#CAFAwards2024 #GoAtalantaGo pic.twitter.com/9KtYAENorT
β Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) December 16, 2024
If no non-Italian club comes for him assuming Atalanta remain firm that they will not sell to a rival, Lookman faces the prospect of being frozen out for the next two seasons.
Even if a club finally comes for him, it might be less than what his value should really be, and that will be another disappointment which raises questions about what his representatives are actually doing about the situation.
The agency Lookman is currently under, per Transfermarkt has the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Thierno Barry, Malik Tillman, Harvey Elliott, Tyler Dibling, Tammy Abraham and Ilkay Gundogan,who all secured moves this summer to reputable clubs.
He is the second most valuable player (β¬60 million) on the agency’s roster after Kai Havertz (β¬65 million) and should be seen as a priced asset like highly-revered Virgil van Dijk, Serge Gnabry and Sadio Mane, Samu Aghehowa, who are also on the roster.
There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel for the talented Nigerian but hope has to be kept alive that something can be done soon enough to salvage the continually embarrassing situation.
