Arsenal told to bring Charlton Athletic hotshot back to London in £42m transfer

Arsenal legend Ian Wright has urged the club to sign Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman this summer with the 27-year-old expected to be available for £34 million.

That would be a return to London for a player who is a graduate of the Charlton Athletic academy. Lookman went on to make 49 first team appearances for the Addicks, scoring 12 goals, before moving to Everton in 2017 for a reported £11 million.

The winger never quite made an impression at Goodison Park and was loaned to RB Leipzig before joining the German side permanently in 2019. Further loan spells at Fulham and Leicester City followed before a transfer to Atalanta in 2022.

Former Charlton Athletic youngster impresses in Europe

Lookman helped Atalanta to a triumph in the Europa League in 2024 and, in doing so, turned heads across Europe. He’s gone on to score 52 goals and register 25 assists for Atalanta in 118 appearances, marking himself as one of the continent’s most exciting talents.

The player was named the African Footballer of the Year last year and Arsenal have been linked with a transfer move for the player before Wright’s words on the Wrighty House podcast earlier this month. When asked about his favourite footballing moments this season, Wright said: “I’m going to go with Ademola Lookman winning the African Player of the Year in respects of that man’s journey.

“I remember him from Charlton, it didn’t work out [the] £10 million [move] to Everton, then moving all over the place, the journey from loan to this. Then I think that’s one of the most devastating performances I’ve seen in any final with that hat-trick he scored.

Ian Wright hopes Arsenal sign winger with ‘unfinished business’

“You know, it’s just… I can’t help but look at his dark moment where it would have been dark for him. You know, especially all those loans, going to another country. And you know what? He never had no problem going wherever he needed to go to find it. And then obviously, like you say, you find your place. Like Scott McTominay’s found that, he [Lookman] found with Atalanta.

“I hope we can buy him, Arsenal. I would love someone like him to come back to the Premier League and say, ‘Listen, I have unfinished business here so I am going to help Arsenal win the league.’ But I just admire his journey and now he’s recognised rightly as a top player, unbelievable.”

Despite his form, Lookman has enjoyed somewhat of a topsy-turvy season having been named as ‘one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen’ by former manager Gian Piero Gasperini following a high profile miss in the Champions League this term. In May, The Sun claimed that Arsenal were looking at a move for Lookman with Corriere dello Sport touting the £42 million fee.

Gunners sporting director Andrea Berta is known to be in the market for a winger this summer, with that position expected to be prioritised after a central midfielder and striker. There remain questions over the future of Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli, with Arteta often having to turn to 18-year-old Ethan Nwaneri this season.

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