Ademola Lookman has wasted absolutely no time making his mark in Madrid. The Nigerian winger, who joined Atlético Madrid in a high-profile January transfer window move, has silenced any early sceptics with a jaw-dropping run of form that has had La Liga talking. For those who follow African football closely, none of this is a surprise — but even by Lookman’s own standards, this start has been something special.
In just 14 appearances for Atlético, Lookman has contributed five goals and four assists, immediately cementing himself as a key figure in Diego Simeone’s setup during a crucial period of the season. Speaking at a LaLiga media roundtable on Thursday, the forward was candid about what’s driven his rapid integration — and he pointed straight at the man in the dugout.
“He’s very intense and very demanding,” Lookman said of Simeone, “which is always good to have a manager like this, because you want to push as much as you can every single day.” It’s the kind of thing players say, sure — but with Lookman, the numbers back it up completely.
This isn’t a player who needed rescuing. Coming off a remarkable stint at Atalanta under Gian Piero Gasperini, one of European football’s most physically brutal systems, Lookman had already conquered the continent. He won the Europa League with the Italian club and was crowned African Footballer of the Year for 2024. He arrived at the Metropolitano not broken, but hungry for more.
Ademola Lookman’s Atlético Madrid Impact Goes Beyond the Goals
What’s particularly interesting about Lookman’s Atlético Madrid story is how he has embraced the defensive demands that Simeone places on every player — including his attackers. When the Argentine coach publicly noted shortly after Lookman’s arrival that the forward would need to improve his defensive work, many observers bristled at the comment. It felt, to some, like an unnecessary dig at a free-flowing talent.
Lookman saw it differently. “Learning that side of the game is something I’ve always been open to and wanting to improve,” he said. “It builds me up overall as a player.” That kind of mindset — reframing constraint as capacity — speaks to a maturity that doesn’t always come easy to creative forwards. At 28 years old, Lookman is entering what looks very much like the peak phase of his career.
“I’m 28 now,” he reflected. “The experiences I’ve learned throughout that time, the lessons I’ve learned, the people that have helped me along the way have obviously shaped me to be who I am.” He also credited something beyond football entirely — his Christian faith — for keeping him grounded and disciplined. “Being disciplined in a way where you let your work speak for itself, the work that goes unseen, you keep doing that, because one day it will pay off.”
His opening weeks at the club made that faith in hard work look prophetic. In his first six games, Lookman scored four goals and registered two assists, becoming the first player in Atlético’s squad to score in La Liga, the Champions League, and the Copa del Rey within the same brief run. That kind of cross-competition contribution is rare — particularly for a January signing still finding his feet in a new country and a new language.
Settling in was made easier, Lookman admits, by two familiar faces. Juan Musso and Matteo Ruggeri, both former Atalanta teammates, had already made the move to Madrid, and their presence in the dressing room gave him a foothold. “Once you join the team, you kind of stick around who you’re most familiar with,” he said. “As time goes on you start to form different relationships, but primarily it was Matteo and Juan Musso who helped me a lot since coming here.” It’s a small detail, but a telling one — mid-season moves to new leagues are notoriously difficult, and having trusted allies in the squad can make all the difference.
The Copa del Rey semi-final against Barcelona offered perhaps the most vivid illustration of what Lookman brings to this team. In the first leg at the Metropolitano, he was at the centre of a 4-0 demolition of the Catalan giants — scoring in the 33rd minute and then teeing up Julián Álvarez for the fourth deep into stoppage time. It was a performance of sheer authority. The second leg, a 3-0 defeat in Barcelona, was a harsh reality check — but Atlético went through 4-3 on aggregate and are now in the final.
“We’ve obviously learned from that and we’re still learning from that,” Lookman said with characteristic composure. He was equally measured when asked whether Atlético can genuinely compete with Barcelona and Real Madrid over a full season. “The mentality is to win as much as we can, win the games that are in front of us,” he said — an outlook that echoes Simeone’s famous partido a partido philosophy almost word for word.
With the La Liga title race now out of reach, the Colchoneros are directing their full energy into the Champions League quarter-finals — which pit them against Barcelona once again — and a Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad on 18 April. Everything Atlético have worked toward this season comes down to the next two weeks.
For Lookman, managing that physical and mental load comes down to basics. “Recovery, eating right, sleeping right,” he said. “Control what you control. Control your controllables and be at your best.” Simple? Perhaps. But it’s the kind of clarity that separates players who peak briefly from those who sustain it.
Having already scored against both Real Madrid and Barcelona in his first few months on Spanish soil, Lookman has made his point loudly and clearly. The 2024 African Footballer of the Year is not merely adapting to Atlético Madrid — he is shaping them. With a Copa del Rey final and a potential Champions League semi-final berth within touching distance, the biggest chapters of his story in Madrid may still be ahead of him.