Atlético Madrid’s Ademola Lookman could have ended up at Tottenham Hotspur in the winter market.
The forward left Atalanta for the La Liga side on February 1st and has enjoyed a good run with Diego Simeone’s side.
He’s scored four goals and contributed three assists from 641 minutes from 12 matches for Atlético.
Lookman played 69 minutes in his side’s 5-2 Champions League win over Tottenham last week. He failed to score or contribute an assist, but did well.
Simeone’s side face the north London club in the last 16 second leg on Wednesday. He has another opportunity to get his name on the scoresheet.
Ahead of the European clash, Wednesday’s edition of AS has a report on the 28-year-old’s failed attempts to join Spurs. Their title reads: ‘Lookman faces the team that rejected him twice’.
| UEFA Champions League 2025/26 | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 10 |
| Started | 8 |
| Minutes per game | 59 |
| Total minutes played | 594 |
| Goals | 2 |
Tottenham offered Lookman multiple times
The London-born Nigeria international had spells in England with Charlton Athletic, Everton, Leicester City and Fulham. The Serie A side signed him from RB Leipzig for around €15m in August 2022.
Lookman managed 55 goals and 27 assists from 137 matches for La Dea and scored a hat-trick in their Europa League final win over Bayer Leverkusen during the 2023/24 season.
He wanted to leave the Italian club last summer but couldn’t find a solution. He tried again in the last window and succeeded eventually. Earlier in the season, Sport Witness relayed news of the Premier League side as an option for him in the winter market.
The forward was offered to Tottenham, both last summer and in January. AS now state Spurs rejected him on both occasions, ‘despite needing attacking reinforcements and having funds available.’
Instead, Spurs ended up signing Conor Gallagher from the Madrid club for €40m. The English club’s decision to reject Lookman, especially in January, has ‘raised questions’.
The newspaper, who seem puzzled by the refusal, state: ‘Why didn’t Tottenham, at such a low point in their form and with so many injuries, take advantage of this market opportunity?
‘They had already had the option to sign him last summer, and the situation repeated itself in January. Lookman fit the profile of a decisive winger they were looking for, but the club declined the deal.’
Why Spurs could regret Lookman decision
Ademola Lookman has had a direct role in seven goals since joining the Spanish club.
In the same period, Tottenham have scored nine goals and two of those were against Manchester City on February 1st, the day Lookman joined Atlético.
Taking his form so far into account, the Premier League side may regret not bringing him back to London. He could inflict more pain by scoring against Igor Tudor’s side later today.
Transfermarket now value him at €40m, and that has increased by €5m since moving to Atlético.
