Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal in a Serie A match between Atalanta and AC Milan at Gewiss Stadium on December 6, 2024 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo: Giuseppe Cottini/Getty Images)
As Atalanta’s star ademoraqueman links to the move to the inter, how will the Nigerian forward fit into the Xi of Christian Chiv of Studio Miazza?
The Atalanta Star Lookman has emerged as Inter’s preferred transfer target as new coach Chib aims to sign a creative striker and add unpredictability to his team.
Intel has already signed Ange-Yoan Bonny and has decided to hold Francesco Pio Esposito after two seasons of loan spells at Spezia. Nerazzurri also wants to part ways with Joaquin Correa and Marko Arnautovic and sell Mehdi Taremi before signing the fifth striker.
Why does Intel want to sign Lookman?
Technically, Inter already has two starting strikers and their backups. Why does Chivu want to sign a player with Lookman or similar skill set?
The former Palma coach is expected to see a 3-5-2 formation, but in his first game, responsible for inters at the Club World Cup, he showed more flexibility than his predecessor Simone Inzagi, starting with his debut with Monterrey.
Chivu often switched the start 3-5-2 formation with either 3-4-1-2 or 3-4-2-1. That’s exactly where Lookman appears in the conversation.
The Nigerian forward can be used as one of two centre forwards, but can also be deployed as an atypical attack midfielder that moves across the last third, especially if the inter-inter needs to cut inside from the left flank.
Lookman and Bonnie are better dribblers than Sirlam
There’s another reason Inter is looking for players like Lookman and RB Leipzig’s Lois Openda. From 2023-24, Nellazzuri won the Serie A title and introduced one of Europe’s best soccer brands. However, they attempted the fewest dribbling in Europe’s top five leagues, and statistics in this field did not improve significantly in 2024-25.
Lookman has finished the 2024-25 Serie A campaign, which has successfully dribbling 36, according to Kickest, which is the same number as Inter’s new signature, Bonny.
The Nigerian star ranked 17th in his successful dribble last year, but the best placed interplayer was Marcus Thurlam, who was ranked 47th, with just 24.
It remains to be seen whether Inter will persuade Atalanta to lower the asking price of 50 million euros, but certainly Nerazzuri is looking for a creative striker to launch a new course under Chiv and give their Rebel hero the tools they need to fight for the Serie A title.
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