Ademola Lookman has come a long way in the last few years and his redemption has taken another step forward after he was crowned the African Footballer of the Year for 2024. Lookman had a hugely promising career as a young footballer and was a regular for England at various age-group levels.
In 2017 he earned a big-money move to the Premier League with Everton, scoring on his debut in a 4-0 win over Manchester City (back when beating Pep Guardiola’s side still counted as an achievement!). It seemed certain that he would go on to play for the full, senior England team, and he repeatedly turned down overtures from Nigeria, the nation of his parents, his dreams lying firmly with the Three Lions.
Gareth Southgate persuaded Lookman to decline Nigeria’s advances, assuring the young attacker that he had a future with England. However, a full cap never came and as Lookman’s form dipped it began to seem highly unlikely he would get to play for England. He failed to settle at Everton, didn’t make the grade at RB Leipzig after an excellent initial loan spell, and then only briefly showed what he was capable of during loan spells at Fulham and then Leicester.
England and Southgate have had such a huge range of attacking options over the past five years and more. Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling couldn’t even make the World Cup squad in 2024. Recognising that there were so many players in the queue ahead of him, the former Charlton Athletic wide man decided in 2022 that he would apply to switch international football allegiance and represent Nigeria.
On the 22nd of February that year FIFA gave the go-ahead for Lookman, full name Ademola Lookman Olajade Alade Aylola Lookman, to play for Nigeria. Less than six months after that he moved from Leipzig to Italian side Atalanta. The fee of €15m may have seemed like a lot to some but now seems like a real bargain and the player has not looked back since opting for Nigeria and Serie A in 2022.
Fast Start in Italy
Lookman scored on his Atalanta debut in August 2022 and enjoyed an exceptional first season in Italy. He had never scored more than six goals in the league in a season before but in 2022/23 he more than doubled that, netting 13 in 31 matches for his new club. In all he netted 15 times in 33 games, transforming from a fast, direct player who had potential but was inconsistent and lacked end product, into an attacker who created chances and scored almost every other game. He was named the club’s Player of the Season.
In 2023/24 he improved his tally to 17 goals and was once again Atalanta’s Player of the Season. He played a big part in them winning the Europa League and was also named in the Europa League Team of the Season. He scored an incredible hat-trick in the final to help the Italians see off Bayer Leverkusen 3-0, inflicting a first defeat of an amazing campaign on the German Bundesliga winners.
Just as Good for Country
Alongside his brilliant form with Atalanta, Lookman was also providing the goods on the international stage. He played six times for Nigeria in 2022, getting his first full international goal in his fourth match against Sao Tome and Principe. Steady, though perhaps unspectacular play for the Super Eagles followed in 2023, with another five caps and another goal, his second Nigeria strike coming against the same opponent as his first.
However, in 2024 he sprung to life. The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations was held in Ivory Coast and began on the 13th of January 2024, having been postponed due to concerns about the weather. The Super Eagles won two and drew one in the Group Stage to make the last 16 where they faced Cameroon, a huge game. Lookman scored both goals in a 2-0 win for Nigeria and then the only goal of the clash as they beat Angola 1-0 in the quarters.
They squeezed through the semi against South Africa on penalties but then lost in the final to Ivory Coast. Lookman started both of those key games but couldn’t quite get his team over the line in the final. Only three players scored more goals at the tournament than he did though, and he was duly named in the Team of the Tournament.
On the back of these excellent performances for club and country the former England youth was named on the Ballon d’Or shortlist, the first Atalanta player to be honoured in that way, finishing 14th in the end. His form with the Serie A side has been even better in 2024/25 and, at the time of writing, he has fired in 11 goals in just 19 games. Now the African Footballer of the Year as well, the future looks very bright for Lookman, who will not turn 28 until October next year.
Lookman Joins Illustrious List
The Atalanta attacker was named African Footballer of the Year on the 16th of December, having been the big favourite to claim the award. His amazing hat-trick to down the seemingly unbeatable Bayer Leverkusen was a big reason for his win, though his form for Nigeria was great too.
He becomes the second Nigerian in a row to win after striker Victor Osimhen in 2023. The other chief contenders were Simon Adingra of the Ivory Coast, Guinea’s Serhou Guirassy, Achraf Hakimi from Morocco and South African goalie Ronwen Williams. However, given what he had achieved and the level he has been performing at, there really could be only one winner.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) who administer the award, had said that voting was too close to call. For that reason there was not the usual three-person shortlist on the night, and instead all five nominees were at the award ceremony in Morocco. There were rumours that Lookman might not win, as had been expected, but thankfully the right player (in our book at least) was selected in the end.