- Ademola Lookman finished 14th on the final rankings of the 2024 Ballon d’Or shortlist during the event in Paris
- The only African on the 30-man shortlist is also the leading favourite for the 2024 CAF Men’s Player of the Year
- He appears to have moved on and shared his next targets after the recognition on the international stages
Ademola Lookman is not resting on his laurels and has set his next targets after his 2024 Ballon d’Or and CAF Men’s Player of the Year Awards nominations.
Lookman has been on an impressive run of form since joining Atalanta in 2022 under head coach Gian Piero Gasperini, the same year he pledged his international allegiance to Nigeria.
Source: Getty Images
He helped Atalanta win their first trophy since 1963, scoring a hat trick in the UEFA Europa League final against the invincible German treble winners Bayer Leverkusen.
He also helped the Super Eagles reach the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, which they lost to hosts Ivory Coast, scoring three goals and making it into the team of the tournament.
Lookman shares next targets
Lookman comes off as a somewhat reserved person, who has been praised by colleagues and managers for his dedication and discipline, and it explains why he is quickly moving on from the euphoria of the nominations.
As noted by Soccernet, his next target ahead of the next international break is to help the Super Eagles qualify for AFCON 2025 and 2026 FIFA World Cup under Austin Eguavoen, who gave him his first international call-up.
“We’ve shown good performances as a team in these AFCON qualifiers and now we need to do better on a consistent basis. We’ve won two games and drawn one game, so we will continue in this manner and try to win our games,” he told 54FootballX.
“Obviously, the goal is to qualify for the Afcon and World Cup, so we are looking to do those things.”
The Eagles need one point to qualify for AFCON 2025 after CAF awarded them three points and three goals over the Libya airport saga, but face a difficult task in the World Cup qualifiers after only three points from the opening four games.
Lookman speaks on CAF POTY
Legit.ng reported that Lookman spoke on CAF POTY’s favourite status, admitting he feels no extra pressure after recent award nominations on the international stage.
The Atalanta forward, who finished 14th on the Ballon d’Or final rankings, is the leading contender to win Africa’s biggest individual award on December 16 in Morocco.
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Source: Legit.ng