Ademola Lookman has come under heavy criticism by Italian media following Nigeria’s failure in the 2026 World Cup African playoff.
 
According to football-italia.net, the Atalanta star’s poor start to the season is being blamed for Nigeria’s failure to scale the African playoff, where the Super Eagles lost to DR Congo via penalties.
 
In one of the attacks on Lookman, Italian journalist Stefano Agresti wrote:  “The former Europa League king, the man who dragged Atalanta to the conquest of its first European trophy, the 2024 African Ballon d’Or, has clearly lost his way. 
 
“The troubles began in the summer, when he decided to break ties with the Bergamo-based club to move to Inter. A blatant rupture because the player chose the most traumatic path, that of desertion. Getting back in shape was difficult. He has only scored one goal with La Dea, and with Nigeria, he suffered a national disappointment. Everything is wrong; he got everything wrong.”
 
Lookman pushed to join Inter in the summer transfer window, but Atalanta rejected any offer below €50m for the Nigerian striker.
  
Lookman reacted by not showing up for pre-season training sessions and eliminating Atalanta pictures from his Instagram. Therefore, he was frozen out of the team for several weeks, but he has been struggling to get back in shape in the following months after his return to group training.
 
Lookman, 28, has scored once in ten appearances across all club competitions this season, and his contract with Atalanta expires in June 2027.