Super Eagles Winger Lookman Returns in Major Boost For Atalanta

Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman in action for Atalanta

Nigeria Super Eagles winger Ademola Lookman is set to return to the field for Serie A side Atalanta on Saturday as they host Hellas Verona in a massive fixture at Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy.

Lookman returned to training with his teammates after a spell on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury he picked up in April.

RadioDea report that Ademola Lookman has a hamstring injury and will miss the match against Fiorentina. That's frustrating news. Speedy recovery Ademola. 🙏🇳🇬💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/znsGH56ccT

— Atalanta BC News (@AtalantaBC_News) April 15, 2023

Atalanta, aka La Dea, will rely on their best forward to produce the goods and help them take another decisive step towards qualifying for next season's UEFA Champions League.

The Nigerian's Importance to Atalanta

Without Lookman, Atalanta had a mixed run: they lost 1-0 to Salernitana and 2-0 to Juventus in their last two fixtures after a run of three wins against Roma, Torino, and Spezia.

🇳🇬⚡️ Out of Europe's top 5 leagues: Ademola Lookman has scored the most goals (5), with 61 mins-per-goal.

Reminder: Atalanta only paid €9m for him. Overall he has 17 G+A in 19 games in all-comps. pic.twitter.com/DoqTlgIetS

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) January 29, 2023

Playing 28 games in Serie A this season, the Nigerian winger scored 13 goals and assisted five for the Italian team, becoming the club's top scorer and remaining the 4th top scorer in the league, tied with Spezia’s M'Bala Nzola. While his Super Eagles teammate, Victor Osimhen, is leading the race for the Italian Golden Boot for the 2022–2023 season with 23 goals for Napoli, Lookman is two goals behind the third-top scorer, Salernitana player Boulaye Dia (15 goals), and seven goals behind Inter’s Lautaro Martinez (20 goals).

Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini was sweating over the return of the Nigeria international. Lookman's return is a significant boost for the La Dea as they're 7th in the Serie A table with 58 points from 35 games.

Despite joining the team last summer from RB Leipzig and the injury that sidelined him for six exclusive games, Lookman is in contention for the Serie A Team of the Season.

Osimhen, Lookman Up For Serie A Team Of The Season
Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, both members of Nigeria's Super Eagles, have been selected for Serie A's Team of the Season.

Osimhen and Lookman are included amongst the eleven forwards chosen for thttps://t.co/EU7xSkF7NA pic.twitter.com/C8Mp6ZV4bF

— footballempireng (@footballempiren) May 16, 2023

The Nigerian Super Eagles international was named “The New Face of the Bergamo Attack” recently. With his talent and potential, Lookman will be a key player for Atalanta in the coming games and the Nigeria Super Eagles in the AFCON 2023 qualifiers in June.

Made For the Big Occasions

Lookman will look forward to it as he's the man for the big occasions. The Super Eagles player helped England win the 2017 Under-20 FIFA 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. In 2021, he switched his international allegiance from England to play for the Super Eagles through his Nigerian parents.

The forward received his first call-up for Nigeria ahead of their 2022 World Cup qualifying fixture against Ghana. Since then, he has played seven times for the Super Eagles and scored one goal.

The Super Eagles look up to several stars, and Lookman is one of them. His pace, dribbling ability, and eye for goal make him a constant threat to opposition defenders.

AFCON in Sight For the Super Eagles

The Super Eagles will play a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Sierra Leone next month. They sit top of Group C with 9 points from four matches, winning three and losing one fixture.

CAF has approved ONLY Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo for the AFCON qualifiers in June, declaring the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja not up to CAF standard.

As it stands, Nigeria has only ONE stadium fit enough to host Elite CAF/FIFA games.

Akwa Ibom ayaya! pic.twitter.com/LU34lklpU4

— G.O.A.T (@iamMightyGeorge) May 15, 2023

The team will hope to put on a good show and qualify for the 34th edition of the 2023 African Cup of Nations. 24 nations will participate in the tournament hosted by Ivory Coast from 13 January to 11 February 2024. Ivory Coast, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and South Africa have already qualified for the showpiece event.