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The Super Eagles attacker has already joined Jose Peseiro’s team for the Africa Cup of Nations, and he ought to be a massive miss for Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta.
Gian Piero Gasperini never hides his feelings, and the Atalanta boss was clear about Ademola Lookman’s Africa Cup of Nations departure to represent Nigeria.
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23:58 - 30.12.2023
Gasperini worries as Lookman's AFCON call-up leaves Atalanta on edge
Ademola Lookman has been trusted by Jose Peseiro for Nigeria's AFCON dreams, but this comes as a nightmare for Atalanta boss Gian Pierro Gasperini, who will have to look elsewhere for consistent goal contributions for a period of—hopefully—five weeks.
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19:35 - 02.01.2024
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The La Dea boss did not stop short of emphasising Lookman’s importance to his side after the Super Eagles attacker netted the only goal in a hard-fought triumph over Lecce to close out 2023. Asked about Lookman, Gasperini characteristically answered forthrightly.
“Unfortunately, Lookman will fly out, but we have Muriel, Scamacca, De Ketelaere, Miranchuk and Toure. It will be an opportunity for them,” said the Atalanta boss.
“I don’t want to act like I’m wishing Nigeria don’t do well, but naturally, we hope Lookman isn’t away for too long. Above all, we hope he doesn’t get injured.”
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How Ademola Lookman’s absence hurts Atalanta
It was not hard to understand Gasperini’s perspective after the win. Lookman’s goal secured the Bergamaschi’s ninth victory of the campaign and their third in four games to end 2023. Importantly, it was a return to winning ways after the 3-0 beatdown La Dea suffered in the year’s penultimate game at high-flying Bologna to leave the Bergamo outfit two points off Thiago Motta’s men and four adrift of fourth-placed Fiorentina.
The Nigerian’s goal won Atalanta two points, and it took his game-clinching strikes in 2023-24 to three for the season, one fewer than joint leaders Christian Pulisic, Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez. In his debut campaign in Serie A, only two of Lookman’s 13 league goals were match-winning strikes — a tally surpassed in the first half of year two in Italy’s top division.
Narrowing to Atalanta, it is striking that no player on the team’s roster has netted more than one game-winning strike, with Luis Muriel, Mario Pasalic, Gianluca Scamacca, Teun Koopmeiners, Charles De Ketelaere and Ederson all on one. With the Bergamaschi expected to be without the Nigerian in games against Jose Mourinho's Roma, league-leading Inter and Lazio, other players must step up.
The Nigeria international unsurprisingly leads the team’s scoring charts with seven, and his three assists take him to double figures in goal involvements before departing for AFCON duty. Only four players in Serie A have netted more than Lookman’s seven, a statistic put into context when considering that five of Domenico Berardi's nine goals have been penalties, and three of Olivier Giroud's eight have been from 12 yards.
This undoubtedly precipitates an appreciation of Lookman’s open-play contributions, evident in the eye test and underscored by the underlying numbers. The Nigerian’s latest goal to claim maximum points against Lecce typified the Atalanta forward’s inclination to shoot and finishing ability.
According to Opta, La Dea’s top marksman’s shots per 90 and goals per 90 are among the highest-ranked in Serie A, evidenced by the screen grab below.
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Lookman’s finish against Lecce at the Gewiss Stadium was his first from outside the box, and the strike demonstrated the 26-year-old’s finishing ability. The Atalanta forward’s effort into the bottom-left corner carried an expected goals (xG) value of 0.02. However, his first-rate shot execution meant the expected goals on target (xGOT) value was 0.54.
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While Atalanta must do without that high-level execution throughout AFCON, Lookman’s influence on the team’s attack cannot be limited to goals alone. According to Opta, the 26-year-old ranks third for shot-ending carries (18) in the league, only behind five players for aggressive carries (2) leading to goals and sixth for chances created (23) after driving with purpose in possession.
Digging deeper, Fbref ranks the Nigeria international 15th (second behind Koopmeiners on the Atalanta roster) for shot-creating actions per 90, with Lookman rising to 13th, considering players to have played a chunk of their team’s season.
Not only is the Super Eagles forward at the forefront of the team’s goalscoring, but he retains an influence in moves preceding shots and overall chance creation.
Will Lookman play a pivotal role for Nigeria at AFCON 2023?
While the Atalanta boss hopes Lookman’s absence is short-lived, supporters of the Super Eagles wish for the opposite as the three-time African champions seek a fourth continental crown. Jose Peseiro’s imperfections are common knowledge, but Nigerians hope they secure the African title for the fourth despite those limits.
READ MORE: Nigeria – Team guide, key players, lineup, prediction
READ MORE — Forward or winger: Do the Super Eagles have a Lookman conundrum?
READ MORE — Super Eagles: Does Jose Peseiro have a problem out wide?
The suboptimal utilisation of Lookman is one of the criticisms of the Nigeria boss, with the former Everton man underutilised in a wing role in a 4-2-4 that takes minimal advantage of the forward’s instincts inside the penalty area.
A spot in the front two is unlikely at AFCON 2023, thus leading to the continued usage of the Atalanta star on the flanks — taking advantage of Lookman’s dribbling and ball-carrying but underusing his penalty box threat. It remains to be seen if Peseiro ekes out top showings from the 26-year-old over the coming weeks, but Gasperini must find solutions without the Bergamaschi’s leading forward.
Atalanta’s loss is undoubtedly Nigeria’s gain.
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