Former Everton, Leicester City and Fulham forward Ademola Lookman is in staggering Serie A form with team-mate Juan Musso hoping the one-time Premier League man can fire Atalanta into the Champions League, speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport.
La Dea coach Gian Piero Gasperini already had a reputation for coaxing every ounce of talent out of the players at his disposal. Papu Gomez, Josip Ilicic, Duvan Zapata and more reached all new heights under the former Inter Milan coach.
But, even by Gasperini’s standards, Lookman’s transformation into a genuinely elite-level goalscorer in Bergamo has been nothing short of remarkable.
Before this season, the most goals Lookman had scored in a single campaign was eight.
The late-blooming 25-year-old already has 14 to his name this term, however, despite starting just 17 games. Alongside fellow summer signing Rasmus Hojlund – Erling Haaland’s near-namesake and almost-lookalike – Lookman’s impact has been so instantaneous that an Atalanta side who finished eighth last term are now flying high in third, a return to the Champions League within their grasp.
Ademola Lookman can’t stop scoring in Serie A
“Hojlund and Lookman have impressive speed,” says Musso. “You can’t read them; their movements, their shooting from the right and left foot. Complete strikers. And they have improved a lot.
“Last year everyone took Atalanta for granted in Europe. Now, we know we can do it. But we’re playing against Napoli, Inter, Milan, Rome, Lazio, maybe even Juventus.
“With competition like this, you have to be brave and hungry. You have to believe it enough to think you can beat anyone. I hope to be able to reach the Champions League again soon.”
Lookman, a one-time Toffees starlet who became a victim of the constant managerial churn at Goodison Park, missed out on a permanent transfer to Leicester last summer despite a largely impressive campaign under Brendan Rodgers.
Atalanta, then, seemed to be taking a risk when they splashed out on Lookman after an inconsistent couple of years. A risk which is now reaping colossal rewards.
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