Sport

Ademola Lookman’s form at Atalanta

The best way to describe Ademola Lookman’s career in English football would be ‘unfulfilled potential’.

At Charlton Athletic, where he started his career, he starred in the youth ranks before making a very strong start in the first team. His debut came in November 2015 aged 18, just a year after he arrived at The Valley, but the rapid nature of his ascension through the ranks caught the eye because of his impeccable goalscoring record at both under-18 and under-21 levels.

It was expected that Lookman would make an impact for Charlton, but he quickly became a key player and talismanic figure. After 10 goals in 45 games, Everton came calling and Lookman moved to Goodison Park for £10m. His pace, electricity, decision-making and unpredictability made him ideal for the Premier League, but the price tag and jump in level had the potential to be overawing. It was important to give him time to settle, but the natural need for instant gratification contrasts directly with that. Whenever it comes, players have to take their chance.

There is a reason so many young players get lost along the way, be that in the academy system, when first breaking into the first team or after a big move. Each stage has so many pitfalls attached, and the slightest bit of inconsistency, which is natural at a young age, is heavily scrutinised.

Lookman’s Everton story is so common. There were flashes of quality, the highlight probably being a superb goal he scored for Everton in a thumping 4-0 win over Manchester City in January 2017, but this came at a time of incredible spending under the ownership of Farhad Moshiri, which has come back to bite hard in more recent times as they continue to battle relegation this season. Lookman got lost in a sea of players and never truly imposed himself; that City goal was his only one in blue, and he only made 36 league appearances in two years before a permanent exit to RB Leipzig after a loan spell.

In a career defined by instant success to date, it was a difficult moment for Lookman, and it would only get tougher from there. Germany had become something of an oasis for young talents of Lookman’s profile because of the example set by Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund. He went there as a 17-year-old and, like Lookman, took to first team action almost instantly. But he continued to grow exponentially, as German clubs looked to the UK market more and more.

Lookman, though, could not follow Sancho’s lead. There were just 22 Bundesliga appearances spanned across the loan spell and permanent move, though he did start explosively in the former, scoring five goals. Then he returned to England, first with Fulham on loan during the 2020/21 season, a spell best known for a disastrous late chipped penalty against West Ham, and Leicester.

Once again, there were glimpses, his talent undoubted, but neither side chose to sign him and last summer Lookman found himself at another crossroads. Aged 24 (his birthday is in October) probably at the peak of his physical powers, he was in danger of drifting. What was next? Another loan? A move to another English club? Or something different again?

He took option three, and thank goodness he did.

Atalanta and Serie A was his next destination; a chance to regain full confidence in a slower league, but a progressive, energetic team with an attack-minded coach, Gian Piero Gasparini.

With 12 goals in 19 league games so far, Lookman appears to have found his home. He is playing like the player he promised to be back at Charlton, driving and inspiring his team onwards.

In January, Gasparini praised Lookman’s impact but also the recruitment in signing him for his style of play.

“He played right away, he was always involved in matches. He immediately showed that he has experience, he had significant growth in clubs where they know football.

“He was at Leipzig, then he played in England. There he was employed a bit distant from goal, but I immediately realised that he had the right characteristics for what we’ve been looking for for some time.

“(Sporting director) Lee Congerton was very good, he had already seen the team play from February-March: there were important negotiations with other players, but he was always convinced of the characteristics of Lookman and how I played and how I wanted to use him. He immediately entered well.”

Last year, he switched international allegiance from England, for whom he played in the development squads until 2019, to Nigeria. He has made an impact already, scoring once in six games.

But is his Atalanta form that has truly caught the eye. Finally, it feels as though he is on the path to becoming the player he could have always been, one of my the most feared in Europe.