‘It’s no surprise’ – Charlton academy chief and former Addicks boss Jackson on Ademola Lookman’s scoring impact in Serie A

Around 800 miles away from where he made a name for himself as a youngster, Ademola Lookman is mixing it with Europe’s elite.

The Charlton academy graduate, who made his debut for the Addicks in 2015 under Karel Fraeye and moved to Everton in 2017, signed for Italian side Atalanta in the summer after bouncing around loan deals in the Premier League.

The Peckham-born attacker has been a revelation since arriving in a league notorious for its no-nonsense defending.

Lookman has a ruthless conversion rate of 12 goals and four assists in 23 Serie A games and is only behind Victor Osimhen and Lautaro Martinez – a duo tipped in the past for blockbuster moves – in the domestic scoring charts.

Lookman’s route on his rise to becoming one of the most in-form players on the continent was not your conventional one.

The South Londoner was playing Sunday league football for Lambeth club Waterloo before he was snapped up by the Addicks at the age of 16.

“You’re excited that something might happen when Ademola is on the ball,” said long-serving Charlton Athletic academy director Steve Avory. “He has got this wonderful ability in one-on-one situations, which caught my eye in the very first game.

“In his time here, from when I was working with him at U18 level and when he went to the U21s and then first-team level, he’s one of those players who has that wow factor when he’s on the ball.

“Also, he had this ability to score goals – exceptional goals as well. You never knew what you were going to get with Ademola, but you knew you were going to get an exciting moment.”

The 25-year-old, born in Wandsworth, has spoken before about the influence of playing in football cages in South London had on his talent, allowing him to perfect his craft in tight spaces against players way above his age.

But fast forward eight years after his Charlton debut away to Milton Keynes, Lookman is scoring braces at Juventus and leading the charge for Gian Piero Gasperini’s side towards the Champions League spots.

“Being selfish, I would have loved for Ademola to have stayed on the English scene and set the Premier League alight,” added Avory.

“I always felt that whenever I watched him on TV at Leicester and Fulham – even when he first went to Everton – he was a Premier League talent.

“I’m sure that if he was playing in the Premier League now, he would be lighting up the division with his skills.”

Lookman, stopped by locals in the streets of Bergamo for autographs and pictures, has also bagged game-winning goals against Fiorentina and Sassuolo.

“No surprise,” said Avory of Lookman’s adaptation to life in Italy.

“He’s not in any way arrogant, but he’s confident in his own ability. He’s confident about taking opportunities in life.

“Even coming into this environment [at Charlton’s academy] at 16, when a lot of the players would have been in it for up to five years or more, coming in here as a newcomer, he took the place by storm to begin with in those first couple of years.

“He has this belief – which I think you have got to have – in his own ability, but also some humility with it. Ademola has got that. He is a very humble individual who doesn’t take anything for granted.”

It’s been a somewhat nomadic experience for Lookman in professional football before he signed the four-year deal for the Italian side in the summer.

After being unable to nail down a starting spot at Everton, a loan move to RB Leipzig followed which was turned into a permanent deal.

Nigerian international Lookman then returned to England in loan deals at Fulham and Leicester City.

But since arriving at the Gewiss Stadium in a €15 million deal, he seamlessly settled into the league and already scored more goals in Italy than he managed in 96 Premier League appearances.

Former Charlton captain Johnnie Jackson played alongside Lookman, then a teenager, as he quickly went from an exciting option off the bench to an eye-catching starter who was sold to Everton in January 2017.

Jackson has kept a close eye on his progress.

“He’s someone that I loved playing with and I had a really good relationship with Ademola,” said Jackson, now AFC Wimbledon boss.

“He was a young boy coming through who I took under my wing a little bit when I was at Charlton. I have loved seeing his progress.”

“We have always known that there was a top player in there with unbelievable ability,” added former Charlton boss Jackson. “Throughout his career he has shown flashes of it. When he was at Everton and Fulham and then when he went to Germany before, he showed flashes of being an absolutely top player.

“But what he has done this season over in Italy is add the consistency as well and the goals regularly.

“It’s brilliant to see him doing so well.”

PICTURES: www.atalanta.it