After watching him as a young talent at Charlton Athletic, Queen Park Rangers defender Morgan Fox has revealed that he was certain Ademola Lookman would grow into a standout player.
Fox, who played for Charlton from 2013 to 2016, encountered both Lookman and Newcastle’s goalkeeper Nick Pope during their time with the Valiants. Lookman joined Charlton’s academy in 2013, and his impressive goal-scoring for the U18 and U21 teams saw him quickly rise through the ranks, eventually making his first-team debut on November 3, 2015.
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Reflecting on their training sessions together, Fox remarked, “When I was at Charlton,” he told Tribal Football, “I think he was playing over the local park so the story goes, he was playing with a local team (Waterloo) and the club brought him in and he started running rings around all of us so you could definitely see the potential.
“He just played free. I watch him now and he is still the same. Obviously, the quality that he has, he is one of them, just very skillful on the ball and it is amazing to see where he has got to now; he can definitely keep going.”
On Nick Pope, he said, “I actually grew up with Nick, we were at Ipswich when we were really young and when we were at Charlton we lived together. Nick is one who has done unbelievably well, I think a lot of people talk about the modern-day goalkeeper and what they want from their goalkeepers, but Nick keeps the ball out of the net and he is very good at it.”
Since his early days at Charlton, Lookman has overcome setbacks to emerge as one of the world’s top footballers. Recently, he placed 14th in the Ballon d’Or ranking and is in contention for the 2024 African Footballer of the Year award.
Since joining Atalanta in 2022, Lookman has made a remarkable impact in European football, recording double-figure goals in each of his last two seasons.
His stellar performance has attracted interest from major European clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Manchester United, West Ham United, and Real Madrid.
