Nagelsmann had a significant influence. - Shocking Bayer setback for Lookman in Germany
Fans of Leverkusen have had terrifying dreams about him. This was also the case for Ralf Rangnick, the then sports director at RB, back in January 2018. He steered the Englishman with Nigerian roots to Leipzig on loan from Everton as a stop-gap measure to beef up the team for the second half of the season.
What a strange start: Lookman tripped on the pitch during his debut in the Bundesliga due to having brought only socks from England. Nevertheless, he still managed to score the winning goal against Gladbach. He did well in the half-season (scoring 5 goals in 11 games) but had to return to his parent club.
In 2019, Leipzig spent a massive 18 million euros to acquire Lookman permanently. However, he failed to live up to expectations during his second stint at RB. He was meant to shine under Julian Nagelsmann, but made occasional appearances, failed to score a goal, and missed an opportunity to leave a mark when he was given the chance. Nagelsmann harshly criticized Lookman's inability to be a menace in front of goal at that time.
Loans to Fulham and Leicester followed, where a permanent transfer fell through due to Lookman's exorbitant salary demands. In 2022, he found himself at Atalanta Bergamo for a meager fee of €9.3 million. This money was crucial for Leipzig to acquire new additions, particularly Timo Werner, whose transfer fee was €20 million from Chelsea.
Domenico Tedesco, Leipzig's coach at the time, didn't actually want to let Lookman go. He hoped to use him as an attacking full-back. However, the team's plans turned out differently.
And thus, Lookman made his way to Bergamo, amped up his game (scoring 30 goals and providing 16 assists in 76 appearances), and snatched the Europa League trophy away from Leverkusen on Wednesday evening.
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Source: symclub.org
