England have an enviable crop of youngsters, certainly in terms of midfield and attacking options, and fans will hope that in 2025 and beyond, Thomas Tuchel can get the best out of them. Any international manager in world football would love to have the likes of Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon and Kobbie Mainoo at their disposal, not to mention the emerging Jamie Gittens.
The Three Lions also have plenty of players aged just that little bit older, though still relatively young, with the likes of Declan Rice, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jadon Sancho and others. But there are other players who might have played for England but have chosen to play for other nations.
Of course, both Declan Rice and Jack Grealish played for Ireland at various age-group levels, so this is something that certainly works both ways. Moreover, for many years nations have selected players based on their grandparents, even if they sometimes felt little affiliation with the country they would go on to represent. In the modern era, we see plenty of players and families with mixed identity and often dual nationality.
Footballers Playing for Another Country
We live in a global society, people move from their home country, marry someone of a different nationality and then perhaps raise children in a third nation. Increasingly, we see footballers choosing which country they play for, with lots of factors going into their decisions.
England “missed out”, though that is not really the right phrase, on the wonderful Jamal Musiala. The brilliant Bayern youngster, who already boasts almost 40 Germany caps, was born in Stuttgart. His father is British-Nigerian, whilst his mother is German but has Polish roots. Musiala moved to England at the age of seven and was at Southampton and then Chelsea, playing for England at various ages from U15 through to U21 – though he also played for Germany’s U16 team!
Musiala chose to play for Germany, though says he could easily have picked England too. However, one player that really did get away, and slipped through the net, is Ademola Lookman. Born and raised in England to Nigerian parents, the former Charlton and Everton wideman only opted to play for the Super Eagles after being overlooked by the Three Lions.
Huge Talent Finally Flourishing
Lookman always clearly had a lot of talent and he scored freely in Charlton’s youth teams. He made his full debut in November 2015 when he was just 18 and before the year was out he had scored three goals for the club. Early international recognition came as he played for England at U19 level and U20 level in 2016, stepping up to the U21 side in 2017. In total, he played for the various Young Lions teams more than 30 times, despite being approached by Nigerian boss Gernot Rohr in 2017.
At this stage, his heart (and his ambitions) lay very much with England, and in 2017 he helped them win the Under-20 World Cup. Lookman was superb throughout the tournament, scoring three goals, all in the knockout phase. He was England’s second-highest scorer behind Dominic Solanke and played 90 minutes in the final as Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored the only goal of the match against Venezuela.
By this stage, the two were Everton teammates, Lookman having played two seasons in Charlton’s first team. In that time he made 49 appearances in all competitions and scored 12 goals, very solid numbers given his age. That attracted the Toffees, who signed him in January 2017 for a fee of around £7.5m with the potential for add-ons to increase that by around 50%.
In 2018 he was approached by Nigeria twice more but Gareth Southgate, then England boss, told the youngster that he was firmly in his thinking. However, his club form was never quite good enough to justify full selection.
He showed occasional flashes of brilliance on Merseyside but never really settled, playing just 48 times across two and a half seasons and scoring just four times. In the middle of that stay with the Toffees he had a loan spell in Germany with RB Leipzig where he proved an instant hit in 2017/18. Moving in January 2018, he hit the ground running and scored five times in 11 matches.
Leipzig Agree Permanent Deal
Lookman went back to Everton in 2018/19 and played 24 games but could not really show what he was capable of. In the summer of 2019, he agreed to a permanent deal with RB Leipzig but the issues that had troubled him at Everton reappeared as he struggled to hold down a regular starting place and was sent out on loan, first to Fulham, then to Leicester.
He was a regular starter at both, playing 60 PL games during a season with each, but managed just 10 league goals in total over the two seasons. He just couldn’t quite deliver on the huge promise he had shown as a teenager.
Everything Clicks into Place with Atalanta
In August 2022, Lookman was on the move again, this time heading to Italy on a permanent deal thought to be worth €15m. By this time he had finally decided enough was enough and his dream to play for England was not going to happen. In 2020 Nigeria said he had agreed to represent them but Lookman refuted that, saying he still wanted to represent the nation of his birth.
However, finally, in 2022, it was announced that not only had he decided to play in the Green of Nigeria, but that FIFA had approved the switch too. He made his Super Eagles debut against Ghana in March of that year and would star for them at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. He made the Team of the Tournament and again scored three knockout-stage goals.
His performances for his new nation and latest club earned him a Ballon d’Or nomination. He was the first Atalanta player to be recognised in that way, whilst his form for both has been superb. In 2024 he notched six goals from 16 games for Nigeria, whilst with Atalanta he is now close to scoring a goal every other game.
England’s Loss
What a season. A season to remember. Together, we made history. Your support & love was crucial, thank you for your support. Sempre forza Atalanta !!🖤💙 pic.twitter.com/p5qRbII3Ls
— Ademola Lookman (@Alookman_) June 3, 2024
The former Charlton man netted 15 times in his first season in Italy then 17 in 2023/24, when he was a big part of his club’s Europa League win. He is well on course to better his goals return in 2024/25 and has truly matured into the player many knew was in there all along.
Whilst it was Musiala’s choice to play for Germany, Lookman only chose Nigeria when he felt his England chances had passed. Lookman would undoubtedly be in or around the England squad and could add pace, trickery, goals and creativity. The only saving grace for the Three Lions is that they are at least well covered in the areas where the Atalanta man operates best. Nonetheless, we wish him well (unless England play Nigeria at the World Cup).
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