This is an accepted version of this page
 Lookman withRB Leipzig in 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Ademola Lookman Olajade Alade Aylola Lookman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1997-10-20)20 October 1997 (age 27) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Wandsworth, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.74 m)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Atalanta | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2013 | Waterloo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Charlton Athletic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Charlton Athletic | 45 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Everton | 36 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | →RB Leipzig (loan) | 11 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | RB Leipzig | 11 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | →Fulham (loan) | 34 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | →Leicester City (loan) | 26 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Atalanta | 85 | (37) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | England U19 | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | England U20 | 15 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | England U21 | 11 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Nigeria | 29 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:29, 16 March 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:42, 25 March 2025 (UTC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ademola Lookman Olajade Alade Aylola Lookman (born 20 October 1997) is a professionalfootballer who plays as aforward forSerie A clubAtalanta. Born in England, he plays for theNigeria national team.
Lookman made his senior debut in 2015, playing as aforward forCharlton Athletic of theChampionship. He signed forEverton in January 2017, where he played mainly as a winger. After joining Italian club Atalanta in 2022, he won theUEFA Europa League in2024, scoring ahat-trick in thefinal againstBayer Leverkusen and subsequently being named theAfrican Footballer of the Year, becoming just the seventh Nigerian international to win the award.[2]
Having represented England fromunder-19 tounder-21 levels, Lookman made his senior debut for Nigeria in 2022. He was part of the squad that finished runners-up at the2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Ademola Lookman Olajade Alade Aylola Lookman[3] was born on 20 October 1997 inWandsworth, Greater London,[4] to Nigerian parents.[5] He attendedSt Thomas the Apostle College inNunhead where he achieved three A*s and five As in hisGCSEs.[6]
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Lookman joinedCharlton Athletic's academy in 2014 after signing from Waterloo, a youth football club based in theLondon Borough of Lambeth.[7] His goalscoring record for Charlton's U18 and U21 teams led to him making a rapid ascent through the Charlton academy ranks and he made his first-team debut for the Addicks on 3 November 2015.[8] He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 defeat atBrighton & Hove Albion on 5 December 2015,[9] and then followed that up with both Charlton's goals in a 2–2 draw withBolton Wanderers ten days later.[10]
Lookman signed a four-and-a-half-year contract withEverton on 5 January 2017 for an undisclosed fee, reported as an initial £7.5 million potentially rising to £11 million with add-ons.[11][12] He made his debut for the club ten days later in a 4–0 victory overManchester City, replacingRoss Barkley in the 90th minute and scoring the team's fourth goal.[13] Lookman made his first European appearance for Everton in a 1–0 win overMFK Ružomberok in theEuropa League third qualifying round first leg.[14]
Although managerSam Allardyce stated that Lookman would not be leaving on loan in the January 2018 transfer window, the club eventually arranged a loan move to Championship clubDerby County, where they hoped he would play regular first-team football. However, the player insisted on an alternative move, and instead joinedBundesliga clubRB Leipzig until the end of the 2017–18 season.[15] In his first game with Leipzig, Lookman scored the winning goal in the away game againstBorussia Mönchengladbach after coming on as a late substitute.[16]
On 25 July 2019, Lookman returned to RB Leipzig on a five-year contract.[17] On 30 September 2020, he joinedPremier League sideFulham on a season-long loan.[18] He scored his first league goal for Fulham againstSheffield United on 18 October.[19]
On 31 August 2021, Lookman joinedLeicester City on a season-long loan.[20] On 11 September 2021, he made his Leicester debut as a 73rd minute substitute during a 1–0 defeat to Manchester City.[21] On 28 December 2021, he scored the only goal in their 1–0 win over Liverpool.[22]
On 4 August 2022, Lookman joinedSerie A clubAtalanta on a four-year contract for a reported fee of €15 million.[23][24] He scored on his debut for the club, a 2–0 Serie A win overSampdoria on 13 August.[25] In January 2023, he scored braces in three consecutive matches: a 8–2 Serie A win overSalernitana, a 5–2Coppa Italia win overSpezia and a 3–3 Serie A draw toJuventus.[26] On 22 May 2024, he scored his first careerhat-trick, in theEuropa League final at theDublin Arena, as Atalanta defeatedBayer Leverkusen 3–0 to win the trophy for the first time in the club's history; in addition, he became the first player to score a hat-trick in a one-legged Men's European final sincePierino Prati in 1969.[27]
On 4 September 2024, Lookman became the first current Atalanta player to be nominated forBallon d'Or due to his performances in Nigeria's build up to2023 Africa Cup of Nations final as well as Atalanta's triumph in the2023–24 UEFA Europa League.[28] After Atalanta exited against Club Brügge from Champions League, Gasperini called Lookman the worst penalty taker he has ever seen, as Lookman missed a penalty he should not have taken.[29]
Lookman was born in England to Nigerian parents and is eligible for the national teams of both countries.[30] He received his first international call-up when he was named in theEngland U19 squad named for Mexico.[31] He was subsequently named in the squad for theEuropean U19 Championships that summer.[32] In early 2017, Lookman turned down the opportunity to switch allegiance to Nigeria after an approach from the national coach,Gernot Rohr.[33]
Lookman was selected in theEngland under-20 team for the2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He scored three goals in the tournament, two againstCosta Rica in the last 16 and one goal against Italy in the semi-finals.[34] England beatVenezuela 1–0 in the final, to achieve the country's first victory in the final of a global tournament since the1966 World Cup.[35]
He received his first call-up for theEngland under-21s forEuropean Championship qualifiers against theNetherlands under-21s andLatvia under-21s in September 2017.[36] He made his debut in the first match, and set up Everton teammateDominic Calvert-Lewin for England's goal in a 1–1 draw.[37]
Lookman turned down Nigeria again in early 2018 after meeting with the president of theNigeria Football Federation.[38] He subsequently rejected Nigeria's approaches for a third time in September 2018, after England senior managerGareth Southgate convinced him that he was part of his plans.[39]
Despite his caps and success for England at youth level, and having previously rejected Nigeria's approaches, in January 2020 the Nigeria Football Federation announced that Lookman would be switching his international allegiance to Nigeria.[40] However, Lookman also stated: "I've not changed my mind on wanting to represent England".[41] On 10 February 2022, Lookman's request to represent the Nigerian national team was approved byFIFA.[5] Lookman made his debut for Nigeria on 25 March 2022, in their scoreless draw withGhana as part of the third round of the African section ofqualification for the2022 FIFA World Cup.[42]
Lookman was named in Nigeria's squad for the2023 Africa Cup of Nations held in theIvory Coast.[43] He scored both goals for Nigeria in their 2–0 win overCameroon in the round of 16,[44] before scoring their only goal in a 1–0 win overAngola in the quarter-final.[45] Nigeria lost thefinal 1–2 to Ivory Coast.[46] Lookman and the rest of the Nigeria team were namedMembers of the Order of the Niger in recognition of their performance.[47]
Lookman is a versatile and explosive winger with a dynamic style of play. He is known for his direct, pacey runs at the opposition defence, causing problems with his quick feet and close control.[48][49] He has a keen eye for goal and is able to finish chances with both feet, as well as with his head. Lookman is a creative player, who can unlock defences with his clever passing and clever movement off the ball.[50][51][52]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Charlton Athletic | 2015–16[53] | Championship | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 5 | ||
| 2016–17[54] | League One | 21 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 7 | |||
| Total | 45 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 49 | 12 | ||||
| Everton | 2016–17[54] | Premier League | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | ||||
| 2017–18[55] | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6[c] | 2 | — | 16 | 2 | |||
| 2018–19[56] | 21 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 36 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2 | — | 48 | 4 | |||
| RB Leipzig (loan) | 2017–18[55] | Bundesliga | 11 | 5 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 5 | ||||
| RB Leipzig | 2019–20[57] | Bundesliga | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[d] | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| Fulham (loan) | 2020–21[58] | Premier League | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 4 | ||
| Leicester City (loan) | 2021–22[59] | Premier League | 26 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12[e] | 0 | — | 42 | 8 | |
| Atalanta | 2022–23[60] | Serie A | 31 | 13 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 33 | 15 | |||
| 2023–24[61] | 31 | 11 | 3 | 1 | — | 11[c] | 5 | — | 45 | 17 | ||||
| 2024–25[62] | 23 | 13 | 0 | 0 | — | 7[d] | 5 | 2[f] | 0 | 32 | 18 | |||
| Total | 85 | 37 | 5 | 3 | — | 18 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 109 | 50 | |||
| Career total | 238 | 63 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 37 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 307 | 83 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2022 | 6 | 1 |
| 2023 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 16 | 6 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 29 | 8 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 June 2022 | Adrar Stadium, Agadir, Morocco | 4 |  São Tomé and Príncipe | 7–0 | 10–0 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | [64] |
| 2 | 10 September 2023 | Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, Nigeria | 8 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 2–0 | 6–0 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | [65] |
| 3 | 27 January 2024 | Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast | 16 |  Cameroon | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations | [66] |
| 4 | 2–0 | |||||||
| 5 | 2 February 2024 | Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast | 17 |  Angola | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations | [67] |
| 6 | 22 March 2024 | Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco | 20 |  Ghana | 2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly | [68] |
| 7 | 7 September 2024 | Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, Nigeria | 24 |  Benin | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | [69] |
| 8 | 3–0 |
Atalanta
England U20
Nigeria
Individual
Orders
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Awards | |||||||||
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