ADEMOLA LOOKMAN’S twinkle toes are gracing the game’s biggest stages after a career-defining whirlwind of 12 months.
The Wandsworth-born winger, 26, single-handedly won Atalanta a first trophy in 61 years with a stunning hat-trick in the Europa League final in Dublin back in May.
Ademola Lookman won Atalanta a first trophy in 61 years with a hat-trick in the Europa League final
The Wandsworth-born winger began his career at Charlton and will now play in the Champions League
Earlier this year, he helped Nigeria – the birthplace of his parents – reach the African Cup of Nations final, becoming the first Atalanta player to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
And having only just returned to the Italian side’s starting XI this term following summer links to Paris Saint-Germain, Lookman appears ready to rip up the continent once more in tonight’s Champions League opener against Arsenal.
Lookman has truly transformed himself from a bog-standard English football talent flirting with mediocrity into a global superstar – one that cost Atalanta just £12.6m.
After a stunning goal and assist to beat Fiorentina 3-2 last weekend and get his Serie A campaign up and running, the Italian media drooled over the Super Eagles talisman.
Gazzetta dello Sport wrote: “The magician is back to being a phenomenon,” and Sky Sport Italia gushed: “His season has resumed the way the last one finished: as the best player on the pitch.”
That victory took place in Atalanta’s newly-refurbished Gewiss Stadium – one that took nearly 2000 days and almost £100m to complete – and Il Giornale wrote: “Lookman… turned on the lights in the new house.”
This adulation is what makes Lookman’s origin story even more special – owing much of his development to rainy nights at The Valley in south east London during his formative years at Charlton Athletic.
Signing from Sunday league club Waterloo in 2014 as a 17-year-old hot-shot, smashing numerous goal scoring records in the academy, Lookman made his first team debut 12 months later.
By the 2016/17 campaign, he was making waves in League One alongside pal Ezri Konsa – now starring for Aston Villa at Europe’s elite table and England.
But it was always Lookman that stood out, despite his 5 foot 8 stature that had some of his teammates suggesting he looked like a school boy compared to his man-sized opponents.
Yet former Charlton defender Adam Chicksen argues: “He played to his strengths and would look to make an impact in everything he did. He wasn’t afraid to take the ball.
“He had freakish ability with both feet, the way he would go past players either way.
“As a result, teams had to double up on him as their game plan even back then. They were more worried about his attributes than how they would bully him physically.
“Ademola thrived on that. He was able to take the pressure on and be the one to open up the game when it mattered. He won games for us.”
Defender Chicksen – now 32 with League Two outfit Notts County – did not have long to admire Lookman, who made an £11m switch to Premier League Everton in January 2017.
His two-and-a-half years on Merseyside proved to be a career-staller, forcing Lookman to look abroad – first with Red Bull Leipzig in July 2019 and then Atalanta in August 2022 after brief and uninspiring loan spells at Fulham and Leicester.
With PSG attempting to lure him to the French capital during this summer’s transfer window, Lookman reportedly asked NOT to play for Atalanta, wanting to train alone in fear of picking up an untimely injury.
But Chicksen recalls that Lookman should not be thought of in that light, given the professionalism he showed when the Toffees came knocking on Charlton’s door.
Chicksen explained: “It’s a rare thing being able to continue with your progress when you do make the leap to the first team and not allow egos to come into it, and you saw that with him.
“He was willing to learn and get better and just stay grounded. He wasn’t just saying: ‘I’m already gone’ and downing tools.
“It is that sort of attitude that has seen him develop the way he has and keep his performance levels high through all sorts of adversity.
“When I used to have some chats to him, I know he put in the work and he remained patient and focused.
“He was a quiet guy. He didn’t need to shout though, because of the impact he could have on the pitch. He knew what he was, and that comes with confidence.
“He knew what he was capable of even at that young age. Playing alongside it allows you to see the brilliance of someone, that potential starting to unfold.
“He never passed on responsibility and that’s the sign of a great player.”