Sports
Ademola Lookman Happy To Choose Super Eagles Of Nigeria Over England
Super Eagles of Nigeria forward, Ademola Lookman has stressed that he is honoured to choose the country instead of England in international football.
Ademola Lookman was born in England to Nigerian parents which means that he was eligible to play for either country.
Lookman represented England in the under-19, under-20, and under-21 levels, playing a total of 32 games in which he scored five goals.
Despite having plenty of game time in England’s youth teams, he wasn’t deemed good enough to play for the Three Lions of England. Hence, he switched his allegiance to the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
Ademola Lookman made his international debut for the Super Eagles of Nigeria on March 25, 2022. Since then, the 26-year-old supporting striker has scored 6 goals in 21 games for the team.
“I wanted to build a career internationally. The decision was something that I thought about for a long time before making it. To play for Nigeria is an honour first of all and the best decision I ever made,” Ademola Lookman told the Times on Tuesday, June 4.
The 2023-2024 season was the best in the career of Ademola Lookman. After playing a major role in helping the Super Eagles finish second in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, the former Leicester City forward scored a hat-trick in the Europa League final which helped Atalanta to win the 2024 Europa League for the first time in the club’s history.
Before the end of the just-concluded season, Lookman scored 17 goals and provided 10 assists in 45 games in all competitions for Atalanta.
Thanks to his overall performance in the season under review, Lookman is regarded as a strong contender for the 2024 Africa Player Of The Year, an award which is currently held by his countryman, Victor Osimhen.