‘Due to his national team’ - Atalanta manager blames Super Eagles duty for Lookman’s poor form

Lookman had a quiet start to the season with no goals or assists in his first six appearances for Atalanta.

The Super Eagles star’s season began under challenging circumstances after a potential transfer to Inter Milan did not materialise during the summer window.

However, he finally found the net in Atalanta's 1-1 draw with AC Milan at the Gewiss Stadium on Tuesday night.

Speaking before Atalanta's upcoming Serie A fixture against Udinese, Juric praised the 28-year-old's abilities but noted that his international duties had limited his time on the training ground.

"He's coming off a difficult period, and he's worked little in recent weeks, partly due to his national team commitments," Juric stated, as reported by Tutto Atalanta. "I wanted to give him a lot of play to help him regain his rhythm and confidence."

The Croatian coach expressed confidence that Lookman is on the path to rediscovering his best form and reintegrating fully with the squad.

"He can be decisive both from the start and during the game," Juric added. "He just needs to continue to grow, but I see him increasingly becoming part of the team."

Having been brought back into the fold, he has been working gradually to regain his peak performance and help the team regain their status. 

Lookman will be looking to build on his goal against Milan when Atalanta takes on Udinese, featuring fellow Nigerian Maduka Okoye, this Saturday.