Talented Nigerian winger Ademola Lookman has credited his recent success with Serie A team Atalanta for significantly boosting his game, marking the past two years as a period of great growth.
Lookman, who achieved an impressive 14th-place finish in the 2024 Ballon d’Or rankings, spoke to the BBC about his growing confidence and consistency on the field, emphasizing how his time with Atalanta has helped him reach “a new level.”
“I have the confidence in my ability to create, to score goals, to help my teammates, to assist them,” Lookman shared. “In the past two years, I believe I have been able to take my game to a new level and show that on a more consistent basis.”
Lookman’s standout season reached a high point when he scored a historic hat-trick in Atalanta’s 3-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen, securing Atalanta’s first European trophy in the Europa League final in May.
This remarkable feat has turned heads across Europe, with top clubs like Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal expressing interest in signing the forward.
So far in the 2024/25 season, Lookman has scored eight goals and assisted five times, keeping him in the spotlight as one of Serie A’s brightest stars.
In an effort to keep Lookman, Atalanta has reportedly proposed a lucrative new contract that would increase his current salary from €2.3 million to €3.5 million per year, with an extension through 2027. The Black and Blues are determined to retain Lookman, making him one of their highest-paid players and aiming to fend off competing clubs.
