Former Super Eagles forward Garba Lawal has hailed Ademola Lookman for making an instant impression at Atletico Madrid, describing the attacker as a “wonderboy”, SportPremi reports.
Lookman completed a €40 million move from Atalanta to the Spanish side during the course of the winter transfer window and has eased into life at the club.
The Nigerian forward endured a disappointing first half of the campaign at La Dea after he was denied a move last summer, but has rediscovered his form despite just joining the Spanish giants.
In five matches since his arrival, the 28-year-old has scored three times and provided two assists, including a goal and an assist in the 5-0 win over Real Betis in his debut.
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Lookman also scored during Atletico’s midweek draw at Club Brugge in the Champions League playoffs, becoming the first player to achieve the feat for the club since Hector Herrera against Juventus in 2017.
Meanwhile, he also became the fifth player to score for two different clubs in a single Champions League season, having previously scored for Atalanta during the group-phase before his departure.
Lawal speaks highly of Lookman after impact at Atletico Madrid
Lawal, who was among the famous Dream Team that won gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in the United States, praised Lookman’s easy adaptation to a different setup.
“Ademola Lookman is wonder boy and Hes a great player and we can see how he quickly settled in t Athletico,” Lawal revealed.
“He played a great against Club Brugge. He linked well and combined with his teammates. Once he understands how they fully, I think he’s going to be difficult to stop.
He’s smart to have left Atalanta at this point. He’s at the right age and the period of his career and to play for a big club like this in the competition like Champions league is great. He’ll definitely scorer more goals before the end of the season,” Lawal added.
The former Nigerian winger also believes Lookman can develop into one of the best players in the league under Atletico manager Diego Simeone.
“Yes it is possible but football is not mathematics where 2+2 is 4. You might expect positive and get negative or vice versa. That’s football for you, but Diego Simeone is a great coach who like to get the best out of his players. He will definitely love Lookman because he works hard for his team and support his teammates”, he concluded.
Lookman will return to action this weekend for Atletico Madrid against Espanyol, hoping to open his account in the Spanish La Liga.
