Former Nigeria nationwide crew coach José Peseiro has revealed how Ademola Lookman felt after he was ignored by England earlier than he determined to play for Nigeria.
Explaining why the Atletico Madrid ahead opted for Nigeria, Peseiro mentioned this occurred after the participant waited for an opportunity to characterize England on the senior degree.
Lookman was born in London to folks from Nigeria. He performed for England’s youth groups, together with the U19, U20, and U21 squads.
In February 2022, FIFA allowed him to vary his nationwide crew allegiance and characterize Nigeria as a substitute.
A former African Footballer of the 12 months, the expert ahead made a last-minute transfer to Atlético Madrid, and simply final weekend, he turned the primary English-born participant to play within the Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga, and La Liga.
Peseiro talked to Marca about Lookman’s transfer to Atletico Madrid earlier than his contract ended.
He mentioned, “For Lookman, it’s a problem, and it’s an enormous second in his profession as a result of now he’s reached one of many high golf equipment in Europe… and he can maintain exhibiting England that they made a mistake by not choosing him for the senior crew,” he mentioned.
Peseiro additionally talked about that Lookman was confused about why his good progress in youth groups didn’t result in a call-up for the senior squad.
“He was nonetheless fairly younger, however he ceaselessly instructed me about how unhappy he felt. After profitable the Underneath-20 World Cup in 2017 and transferring as much as the Underneath-21 crew, England stopped inviting him to affix the squad. He couldn’t perceive it. He thought he might have a future there, however ultimately, he needed to settle for the state of affairs.”
With mother and father from Nigeria, Lookman selected to play for the Tremendous Eagles, a call he made earlier than Peseiro turned the top coach.
He has immediately helped rating 11 targets, with six of these being targets he scored himself and 5 being assists he offered, in 13 matches.
