Ademola Lookman: Moving Citizens From England To Nigeria Is The Key To Success

JAKARTA - Ademola Lookman had to struggle when he started his professional career in England, where he was born.

After graduating from Charlton Athletic Academy, the attacker was promoted to the first team for two years. He then went to Everton in 2017.

However, he struggled, failed to penetrate the first team, so he had to be loaned to RB Leipzig in 2018.

Together with the German club, Lookman is also not prominent and must be returned to England on loan at Fulham (2020-2021) and Leicester City (2021-2022).

Until time Ademola Lookman made decisions beyond the predictions of many people. He moved citizens from England to Nigeria in 2022.

The 27-year-old was born in Wandsworth, Greater London, but both of his parents are Nigerian so the transfer of citizens is very possible for him.

In fact, it was this decision that changed his journey. Atalanta then proposed to him in August 2022.

Lookman's work then exploded. He has been Atalanta's important pillar since the first season in Italy and of course the Nigerian national team.

"I think since I wore the Super Eagles uniform (National Team of Nigeria), it has paid off."

"We've been able to achieve a lot as a team. We're still moving on as a team. However, intimacy is something very special in the squad."

"Since I joined the Super Eagles, things have gotten better for me," Lookman said on SportyTV.

Lookman just made his debut for the Nigerian National Team two years ago, in the first leg of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers which had a bad fate against Ghana.

In less than two years, the Atalanta forward has changed from being called a failed player in the Premier League, to being the CAF Men's Best Player (African Football Confederation).

Lookman's victory at the CAF award on December 16, 2024 touched a number of important things for Nigeria. The most important thing is that he became the first Nigerian player to be born abroad to win the African highest award.

The award cannot be separated from the contribution of three goals and two very important assists for Nigeria to reach their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final or eighth.

At club level, he set a European hat-trick record in a 3-0 win to bring Atalanta to the 2023/2024 Europa League title by beating strong favorites, Bayer Leverkusen in May 2024. The German team came into the game unbeaten and became a very strong favorite to win.

He has continued to play this season, scoring 12 goals and five assists in 19 appearances in all competitions for Atalanta.

Lookman also scored two goals as Nigeria qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals or the 35th edition, with two other goals controversially disallowed.

All of this echoed the type of contribution made by players such as Osaze Odemwingie and Victor Moses, to Super Eagles as players born in the diaspora.

Recently, Alex Iwobi, Leon Balogun, Ola Aina, Semi Ajayi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, and William Troost-Ekong, all became important pillars of Super Eagles.

"For me, this is a great moment. An extraordinary achievement. It is an honor to be able to join the list of many great players who have achieved many achievements in this game, the legends."

"Not only me, but we have a lot of talent, not only in men's football, but also in women's football."

"For us, providing motivation to young people who want to aspire to be like us is the most important thing."

"If we can set a good example, they have a good footprint to go through," Lookman said of the African Player of the Year award.

In short, Ademola Lookman assessed that his citizenship transfer was the key to his current success.

Although the English National Team for the age group (U-19, U-20, and U-21), even included in the 2017 U-20 World Cup champion squad, Lookman felt that the decision to become a Nigerian citizen had changed his career.

With Atalanta, he scored 15 goals and eight assists in 33 appearances in all competitions in his first season (2022/2023).

His career is getting worse the following season (2023/2024). Lookman contributed 17 goals and 10 assists in 45 appearances in all competitions.

Currently, his starship has many top European clubs monitoring. However, Ademola Lookman has a contract until June 2026 in Bergamo.

The price is estimated to increase rapidly from just 10 million euros to 55 million euros.