{"id":878994,"date":"2025-12-19T23:22:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T05:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/19\/everything-genoa-boss-de-rossi-said-of-afcon-bound-ademola-lookman-ahead-of-atalanta-clash\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T23:22:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T05:22:10","slug":"everything-genoa-boss-de-rossi-said-of-afcon-bound-ademola-lookman-ahead-of-atalanta-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/19\/everything-genoa-boss-de-rossi-said-of-afcon-bound-ademola-lookman-ahead-of-atalanta-clash\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything Genoa boss De Rossi said of AFCON-bound Ademola Lookman ahead of Atalanta clash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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\"Soccer<\/p>\n

Ademola Lookman. Photo by IMAGO <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Genoa head coach Daniele De Rossi has admitted that Atalanta will miss Ademola Lookman<\/a> when the sides meet in Serie A this weekend, describing the Nigerian winger as a decisive presence capable of changing games on his own, Soccernet.ng reports<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Genoa host Atalanta on Sunday in a matchday 16 encounter that carries growing importance for both teams, with the pressure mounting at opposite ends of the table. Atalanta sit 12th with 19 points, well below expectations, while Genoa are 16th on 14 points, uncomfortably close to the relegation zone.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman. Photo Credit: Atalanta X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite Atalanta being slight favourites, they will travel without Lookman, who has departed to represent Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations<\/a> (AFCON), a loss De Rossi believes could significantly alter the balance of the contest.<\/p>\n

Soccer \u2018He changes things\u2019 \u2013 De Rossi on Ademola Lookman\u2019s impact<\/h2>\n

Lookman\u2019s absence is a source of relief for Genoa manager, who openly admitted the Atalanta winger is the kind of player every coach wants available, regardless of form.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Nigeria\u2019s Ademola Lookman. Photo Credit: Atalanta X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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As per FCInter19008<\/a>, De Rossi said, \u201cI confess that if I were to coach Lookman, I’d always want him on the pitch because in Serie A he can make the difference and shift the balance. We’ve also seen how dangerous the other players on the bench are, but having him or not certainly changes things.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Though Lookman has not hit peak form this season, his threat from the left flank remains constant. Defenders are still forced to double up on him, while his direct running continues to stretch opposition backlines, attributes that helped Atalanta conquer Europe last year.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman. Photo Credit: Atalanta X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 28-year-old’s his overall number reads: 55 goals and 26 assists in 134 appearances since joining from RB Leipzig three years ago.<\/p>\n

However, this campaign has been less productive domestically. Lookman has scored two goals in 11 Serie A matches, yet he has retained his place in the starting XI under head coach Raffaele Palladino, a sign of the trust placed in his match-winning qualities.<\/p>\n

Soccer AFCON duty and Super Eagles ambition<\/h2>\n

Lookman is one of two Atalanta players absent due to AFCON commitments, alongside Odilon Kossounou. His departure leaves Palladino with fewer attacking options at a time when Atalanta are desperate for consistency.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Ademola Lookman. Photo Credit: NFF Comms<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rather, Lookman’s focus now shifts to international duty.<\/a> He is expected to be a strong contender for a starting role when Nigeria\u2019s Super Eagles face Tanzania in their opening Group C fixture at the tournament on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The winger was a key member of the Nigerian squad that reached the 2023 AFCON final in C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, and he arrives at this edition with renewed responsibility as one of the team\u2019s most experienced attacking options.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"<!--Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele” src=”https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/app\/uploads\/2024\/12\/DSC_0327-copy-150×150.jpg” height=”80″ width=”80″>\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tImhonlamhen Eronmhonsele\t\t\t\t<\/a>
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\n\t\t\t\tA lifelong fan of Arsenal and the Super Eagles, Imhonlamhen is a football writer and editor at Soccernet.ng, where his journey as a journalist began more than six years ago. Since then, he has helped shape the platform\u2019s editorial voice and guided it toward some of its proudest milestones. <\/p>\n

With a background in Engineering and further training in journalism and digital media, Imhons brings both precision and passion to his storytelling. His love for football runs deep, but he also follows boxing, chess, and athletics with equal curiosity.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Ademola Lookman. Photo by IMAGO Genoa head coach Daniele De Rossi has admitted that Atalanta will miss Ademola Lookman when the sides meet in Serie A this weekend, describing the Nigerian winger as a decisive presence capable of changing games on his own, Soccernet.ng reports. Genoa host Atalanta on Sunday in a matchday 16 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":878995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1272,110599,2005],"tags":[7839,129405],"class_list":{"0":"post-878994","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-everything","8":"category-genoa","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-everything","11":"tag-genoa"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=878994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/878995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=878994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=878994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=878994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}