Atalanta star Lookman adds Nigeria brace to Ballon d’Or boost | OneFootball

It has been quite the summer for Ademola Lookman, who tried to force an exit from Atalanta, was named in the Ballon d’Or short-list and scored twice for Nigeria.

The striker only played one game for his club this season, the UEFA Super Cup against Real Madrid in Warsaw.

A couple of days later, he asked to be left out of the squad for their Serie A fixture, as he had been reportedly approached by Paris Saint-Germain and other clubs.

That transfer failed to materialise and he is now back in the team for Gian Piero Gasperini, albeit missing the first three rounds of the campaign.

Lookman riding high in 2024

Over the last few days, Lookman has made it to the short-list of 30 candidates for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award, thanks largely to the hat-trick he scored in the Europa League Final against Bayer Leverkusen.

Today, he scored two goals for Nigeria in a 3-0 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Benin.

The other goal was scored by Victor Osimhen, who was having his first competitive match of the season after sitting out all summer waiting for a transfer away from Napoli.

That finally arrived this week to Galatasaray on loan and he came off the bench for Nigeria to find the net.