With Salernitana 5-1 down even before the hour mark in Bergamo, there was a sense of inevitability about it as Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman picked up possession on the edge of the penalty area and set his sights.
Veteran shot-stopper Guillermo Ochoa, making only his third appearance for the Serie A outfit, must have been wondering what he’s got himself in for. Lookman’s 54th minute screamer – his second in an eventual 8-2 win – might have been lashed into the top corner with laser-like precision, but the alleged ‘defending’ in the build up certainly left a lot to be desired.
Lookman won’t come up against teams as generous as Salernitana every week, of course.
The Nigeria international is becoming something of a marked man these days, and the way he smashed the ball past Ochao from 22 yards with have Serie A bosses up and down the land racking their brains for ideas about how to stop one of the division’s most in-form attackers.
Only Napoli’s Victor Osimhen has more Serie A goals than Lookman’s nine. A tally which feels all the more impressive when you consider the former Charlton Athletic, Fulham, Leicester City and Everton winger has only started 12 games. What’s more, this is also playing his first season in a new-look, centre-forward role.
A role he has taken to like the proverbial duck to water.
Former Everton youngster Ademola Lookman can’t stop scoring for Atalanta
“He did not show signs of initial struggles. He’s settling in well at the club,” former Atalanta ace Ayodele Makinwa tells PUNCH.
“I’m confident he will set a new goalscoring record at the club. He is very prolific and he is becoming a fantastic buy for the club.”
In all competitions, Lookman has hit the target no fewer than 11 times. More than Everton quintet Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Neal Maupay, Anthony Gordon, Alex Iwobi and Dwight McNeil put together; Lookman’s former employers crying out for a semblance of cutting edge as the prospect of relegation looms.
Much has been made, of course, about Everton’s lack of thrust in the absence of departed talisman Richarlison. But Lookman’s stunning transformation from a jinking winger into a free-scoring central striker may have these tired, put-upon Everton supporters wondering just what they have done to deserve such treatment.
‘I’m happy’
“Usually the strong ones don’t take that long (to adapt to life in Italy). He has already gained experience. He’s not a beginner,” Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini tells TMW of Lookman; handed just seven league starts by Everton before being sold to RB Leipzig.
“He knows football, he’s good at adapting to our way of playing in attack.”
“I’m happy,” Lookman told SportMediaset after that 8-2 win; Atalanta’s biggest in over 80 years. “We are strong as a team. My understanding with my team-mates is positive, even if sometimes we change (our approach) according to the matches.”
Everton are a club with more regrets than most. Lookman’s sudden emergence as one of Europe’s most prolific forwards feels like another to add to a growing collection.
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