FIFA has approved Ademola Lookman’s switch from England to Nigeria and he is now eligible to feature for the Super Eagles.
The Leicester City forward had been on the verge of completing the switch for a few months and FIFA finally gave the nod on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
The pacy and skillful wide forward was born in England to Nigerian parents and has played for England’s youth national teams.
Lookman, 24, has a played combined 21 times for England U-19s, U-20s and U-21s, including six appearances as the young Three Lions won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2017.
He began his professional football career at Charlton Athletic in the English second-tier in 2015 before joining Everton for €9 million in 2017.
Lookman struggled for playing time at Everton and was loaned out to Germany’s RB Leipzig in 2018 before making a permanent move for €18m to the Bundesliga side in 2019.
He is still a Leipzig player but he is at Leicester City on loan after also spending last season on loan at Fulham.
Lookman has been decent in England this season, making 22 appearances for Leicester City across all competitions, contributing five goals and three assists.
He will be a welcome addition to the Super Eagles as they take on Ghana in the Qatar 2022 World Cup playoffs in March, as he will provide an option in both wide forward positions and can play from the centre too.
Lookman is the latest player in recent years to switch allegiance from a European country to Nigeria, following in the footsteps of Leon Balogun, Alex Iwobi, William Troost-Ekong and Joe Aribo.
Super Eagles stars Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho are Lookman’s teammates at Leicester City.
