“He killed him” – Jose Peseiro faults ex-Atalanta coach for Ademola Lookman’s exit

Former Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro has faulted Gian Piero Gasperini for Ademola Lookman’s transfer to Atletico Madrid, Afrik Foot reports.

Lookman’s visibility soared during Peseiro’s tenure with Nigeria, particularly at the AFCON 2023 tournament in Ivory Coast, where the winger scored three goals and emerged as one of the tournament’s standout performers as the Super Eagles finished runners-up.

He then took his display up a notch with Atalanta, scoring a stunning hat-trick in the UEFA Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen, delivering Atalanta’s first-ever European trophy.

Lookman’s display saw him placed 13th in the Ballon d’Or rankings and capped off a remarkable 2024 by winning the CAF Player of the Year award.

After starting the following season strongly, Lookman suffered an injury setback in January 2025.

Upon his return, he missed a crucial penalty against Club Brugge in the Champions League play-offs, an effort saved by Simon Mignolet, as La Dea were eliminated.

The aftermath proved explosive. Then-head coach Gian Piero Gasperini publicly criticised Lookman, reportedly branding him the worst penalty taker he had ever seen.

🚨🇳🇬 Gasperini: “Ademola Lookman is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen”.

“He wanted to take the penalty after scoring a goal, he took the ball despite Retegui and De Keteleare available to take it… I didn’t like what Lookman did”. pic.twitter.com/ieivtPMaL5

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 18, 2025

The comments sparked outrage, with Lookman taking to social media to express his disappointment at being singled out despite his immense contributions to the club.

Peseiro faults Gasperini for Lookman’s Atalanta exit

That event, in isolation, closed Loookman’s mind off regarding a future with Atalanta, according to Peseiro.

“No, no, no, he [Lookman] is very very easy to carry along, you just have to leave him to be free,” the Portuguese said in quotes revealed by Marca.

“Even if sometimes I did things we didn’t want because of their brazenness on the pitch, but his problems had nothing to do with how to handle him.

“Lookman is very quiet, he doesn’t fret or crack. He’s not very outgoing, not about talking, laughing and singing, so I was surprised that he responded to his coach, but he [Gasperini] had killed him for missing a penalty after everything he had given,” Peseiro concluded.

Gasperini departed Atalanta the following summer, but Lookman’s situation in Bergamo did not improve.

The club blocked his desired transfer to Inter Milan, further deepening tensions. His relationship with new manager Ivan Juric also deteriorated before Atalanta finally sanctioned a transfer to Atletico Madrid a few weeks ago.