Biography and Profile of Ademola Lookman – Nigerian Footballer

Ademola Lookman is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Serie A club Atalanta and for the Nigeria national team. He was born in England.

Lookman made his senior debut in 2015, playing as a forward for Charlton Athletic of the Championship. He signed for Everton in January 2017, where he played mainly as a winger. He has represented England from under-19 to under-21 levels. In 2022, Lookman made his debut for Nigeria.

Born Ademola Lookman Olajade Alade Aylola Lookman, on 20 October 1997 in Wandsworth, Greater London, to Nigerian parents, Lookman attended St Thomas the Apostle College in Peckham where he achieved three A*s and five As at GCSE.

Club Career

Lookman currently plays for Seria A club, Atalanta, and has played for several other clubs, including: RB Leipzig, Leicester City, Fulham, Everton, and Charlton Athletic.

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International career

Lookman was born in England to Nigerian parents, and is eligible for the national teams of both countries. He received his first international call-up when he was named in the England U19 squad named for Mexico. He was subsequently named in the squad for the European U19 Championships that summer. In early 2017, Lookman turned down the opportunity to switch allegiance to Nigeria after an approach from the national coach, Gernot Rohr.

Lookman was selected in the England under-20 team for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He scored three goals in the tournament, two against Costa Rica in the last 16 and one goal against Italy in the semi-finals. England beat Venezuela 1–0 in the final, to achieve the country’s first victory in the final of a global tournament since the 1966 World Cup.

He received his first call-up for the England under-21s for European Championship qualifiers against the Netherlands under-21s and Latvia under-21s in September 2017. He made his debut in the first match, and set up Everton teammate Dominic Calvert-Lewin for England’s goal in a 1–1 draw.

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Lookman turned down Nigeria again in early 2018 after meeting with the president of the Nigeria Football Federation. He subsequently rejected Nigeria’s approaches for a third time in September 2018, after England senior manager Gareth Southgate convinced him that he was part of his plans.

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. However, Lookman also stated: “I’ve not changed my mind on wanting to represent England”. On 10 February 2022, Lookman’s request to represent the Nigerian national team was approved by FIFA. Lookman made his debut for Nigeria on 25 March 2022, in their scoreless draw with Ghana as part of the third round of the African section of qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Lookman scored the two winning goals for Nigeria against Cameron in the AFCON 2024 round of 16.

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