Ademola Lookman is a professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Serie A club Atalanta and the Nigeria national team, the Super Eagles.
In this article, you will learn about this pacy winger's biography, his academic excellence, net worth, salary, wife, parents and stats.
We'll also bring to you Lookman's club career, international career and achievements.
Ademola Lookman biography
Ademola Lookman was born on 20 October 1997 in Wandsworth, South West London, to Nigerian parents. He attended St Thomas the Apostle College in Peckham where he achieved academic excellence in GCSE.
Lookman started his professional football career with Charlton Athletic’s academy in 2014, before furthering his career in other clubs.
He represented England’s youth team at the national level, winning the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2017 but later switched nationality to represent Nigeria at the senior level.
We'll get to let you know more about him as we proceed in detail about this humble footballer.
Ademola Lookman profile
| Full name | Ademola Olajade Alade Aylola Lookman |
| Date of birth | 20 October 1997 (age 25) |
| Place of birth | Wandsworth, London, England |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.74 m) |
| Position (s) | Winger, Forward |
| Current club | Atalanta |
| Shirt number | 11 |
Ademola Lookman club career and stats
Charlton Athletic (2014-2017)
Ademola Lookman joined Charlton Athletic's academy in 2014 after signing from Waterloo, a youth football club based in the London Borough of Lambeth.
His goalscoring record for Charlton's U-18 and U-21 teams paved the way for him to make a rapid rise through the Charlton academy ranks and he made his first team debut for the Addicks on 3 November 2015.
Lookman scored his first goal for Charlton in a 3-2 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion on 5 December 2015, and then followed that up with both Charlton's goals in a 2-2 draw with Bolton Wanderers ten days later.
He spent three seasons at Charlton and made a total of 49 appearances, and scored 12 goals before he left in 2017.
Everton (2017-2019)
Lookman signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with Everton on 5 January 2017 for an undisclosed fee, reported as an initial £7.5 million potentially rising to £11 million with add-ons.
He made his debut for the club ten days later in a 4-0 victory over Manchester City, replacing Ross Barkley in the 90th minute and scoring the team's fourth goal.
Lookman would go on to make his first European appearance in his career and for Everton in a 1-0 win over MFK Ružomberok in the Europa League third qualifying round first leg.
Manager Sam Allardyce had stated that Lookman would not be leaving on loan in the January 2018 transfer window, but the club eventually arranged a loan move to Championship club Derby County, where they hoped he would catch regular first team football.
However, the player insisted on an alternative move, and instead joined Bundesliga club RB Leipzig until the end of the 2017/18 season.
In his time at Everton, Lookman's stats read 48 matches played, with 4 goals scored across all competitions.
RB Leipzig (2017/18 and 2019-22)
In a bid to get more playing time, Lookman first joined Bundesliga club RB Leipzig on loan until the end of the 2017/18 season.
In his first game with Leipzig, Lookman scored the winning goal in an away game against Borussia Mönchengladbach after coming on as a late substitute.
He went on to make 11 appearances and netted 5 goals at the time before returning back to his parent club, Everton, at the end of that season.
On 25 July 2019, Lookman returned to RB Leipzig on a five-year contract, but never made an impact in the 11 matches he played for the team that season. Subsequently, he was loaned out to Fulham, and later to Leicester City.
At the end of the 2021/22 season, Lookman returned to Leipzig and was finally sold to Atalanta. In all, his stats for Leipzig read a total of 24 games with 5 goals scored.
Fulham (2020/21)
On 30 September 2020, Lookman joined Premier League side Fulham on a season-long loan from RB Leipzig.
He scored his first league goal for Fulham against Sheffield United on 18 October.
His stats at Fulham were 35 matches played across all competitions with 4 goals scored.
Leicester City (2021/22)
On 31 August 2021, Lookman joined Leicester City on a season-long loan from RB Leipzig.
On 11 September 2021, he made his Leicester debut as a 73rd minute substitute during a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City.
On 28 December 2021, Lookman scored the only goal in their 1-0 win over Liverpool.
At the end of his loan season with Leicester, he played a total of 42 games and netted 8 goals across all competitions.
Atalanta
On 4 August 2022, Lookman finally parted ways with RB Leipzig as he joined Serie A club Atalanta on a four-year deal for a reported fee of €15 million.
He scored on his debut for the club in a 2-0 Serie A win over Sampdoria on 13 August. In January 2023, he scored braces in three consecutive matches: a 8-2 Serie A win over Salernitana, a 5-2 Coppa Italia win over Spezia and a 3-3 Serie A draw to Juventus.
With Atalanta, Lookman lost the 2024 Coppa Italia final 1-0 to Juventus but together, the team recovered to beat Bayer Leverkusen in the final of the Europa League 3-0 with all three goals scored by the Nigerian who became the first African to score a hattrick in a European final.
Ademola Lookman 🇳🇬 scored a hat trick to help Atalanta win the UEFA Europa League.
He is the first Player in history to score a hat trick in a UEFA Europa League Final. pic.twitter.com/8hCFSP00lR
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) May 23, 2024
At the time of this update in May, 2024 Lookman has made a total of 75 appearances for Atalanta, and has scored 30 goals across all competitions.
Ademola Lookman international career and stats
Lookman was born in England to Nigerian parents, and was eligible for the national teams of both countries.
He received his first international call-up when he was named in the England U-19 squad for a match against Mexico. He was later named in the squad for the European U-19 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 U-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 U-21s for European Championship qualifiers against the Netherlands U-21s and Latvia U-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.
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 and he made his debut for Nigeria Super Eagles on 25 March 2022, in a scoreless stalemate with Ghana as part of the third round of the African section of qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
In December, 2023 Lookman was named in Nigeria's 2023 Africa Cup of Nations squad in Ivory Coast, his first senior tournament for Nigeria. He scored both goals for the Super Eagles in the round of 16 against Cameroon, and netted one more against Angola in the quarter-finals.
Although Nigeria lost the AFCON final 2-1 to hosts Ivory Coast, Lookman and the rest of the Nigeria team were named Members of the Order of the Niger (MON) in recognition of their performance during the tournament.
As of May, 2024 Ademola Lookman has made 26 appearances for the Super Eagles and has netted 6 goals.
Ademola Lookman salary
Lookman currently earns a salary of £41,000 per week, which translates to an annual income of £2,132,000 while playing for Atalanta.
Ademola Lookman net worth
Lookman has been making headlines for his remarkable rise in world football which has in turn catapulted his market value.
At just 26 years of age, his net worth is estimated to be around $4 million to $8 million. He's quite a big boy with a career rising rapidly especially after his man of the match performance against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2024 Europa League final.
Ademola Lookman market value
The market value of Lookman is also impressive, coming in at £22,950,000. Lookman’s current contract is billed to expire on June 30, 2026, and his future career prospects appear bright from the looks of things currently.
Ademola Lookman parents
His parents are Mr and Mrs Ademola Lookman. Lookman's parents operated a traditional household with high regard for Nigerian culture. They hail from the Yoruba tribe of South Western Nigeria.
They migrated to London years before their footballer son was born. They've been described as a very educated couple, strict, sassy and funny who were well to do.
During the Europa League title celebration, his parents were seen for the first time by the whole world celebrating with their son Ademola Lookman.
Ademola Lookman celebrating with his father and mother. 🫂
Family. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/5cyV6nPwyK
— Pulse Sports Nigeria (@PulseSportsNG) May 22, 2024
Ademola Lookman wife
Lookman is still focused on his football career, he is yet to marry and doesn't have a girlfriend that's open to the public knowledge as at the time of writing.
Ademola Lookman education
For many kids born in London to Nigerian parents, going to school is compulsory. Lookman in his early years followed the directions set out by his parents.
He attended St Thomas the Apostle College in Peckham, London, where he was exceptional in multitasking between football and academics.
Lookman achieved three A*s and five As in GCSE while at school, a cognitive trait he got from his parents.
Lookman said all he wanted to become was a footballer, stating he only went to school to honour his parents.
Ademola Lookman achievements
- UEFA Europa League champion: 2023/24 (Atalanta)
- FIFA U-20 World Cup winner: 2017 (England)
- Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2023 (Nigeria)
- Atalanta Player of the Season: 2022/23
- Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2023
- Member of the Order of the Niger (MON)
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 months ago
