Ademola Lookman says he is benefiting from the tactical demands of Diego Simeone as he adapts to a different role at Atletico Madrid.
The Super Eagles winger has started the 2026/27 La Liga campaign under unusual circumstances, including being used as a centre-forward in matches against Malaga and Villarreal. Simeone later publicly apologised to Lookman for deploying him out of position.
The Argentine manager’s decision was influenced by injuries and the unavailability of key forwards Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sørloth. However, rather than expressing frustration at being moved away from his preferred position, Lookman believes the experience is helping him develop as a more complete player.
“Playing under the Mister is great. I am learning a lot and trying to improve. Learning from him and his staff is important for me to keep improving and help the team.
“It was important for us to continue in the way we’ve started the season,” the 2024 CAF Player of the Year told ESPN.
Lookman also stressed the importance of Atletico Madrid maintaining their positive beginning to the campaign. The club have collected seven points from their first three league matches, a return he described as encouraging but one that must be followed by further improvement.
“Three games, seven points, it’s positive. So, we have to keep on improving, keep on getting better as a team, and then winning, it’s the most important.”
The Nigeria international responded strongly after his early tactical adjustments, scoring in Atletico Madrid’s 3-1 victory over Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.
That performance underlined his attacking quality and offered evidence that he remains capable of influencing matches despite being asked to operate in different areas of the pitch.
Simeone has praised Lookman’s attitude, highlighting the forward’s work rate and willingness to improve beyond his natural instinct for scoring goals. The manager has also stressed the importance of developing Lookman’s overall contribution to the team.
For Lookman, the opportunity to work closely with Simeone and his coaching staff has become an important part of his adjustment at Atletico Madrid. He says he is focused on learning the demands of the manager’s system while helping the team continue its unbeaten start and compete effectively in La Liga.
His goal against Sevilla provided an immediate response to the positional change and reinforced his value to Simeone’s squad. With Alvarez and Sørloth unavailable during the opening fixtures, Lookman has shown that he can offer Atletico Madrid flexibility as well as attacking threat.
The 2024 CAF Player of the Year now faces the task of continuing that progress as Atletico Madrid seek to improve collectively and turn their promising opening into a sustained challenge.