Celtic have a lot of what if transfer stories in recent years. They were on the verge of signing Ivan Toney before his move to Brentford. They were also very close to getting a deal done for John McGinn before he ended up at Aston Villa. And one can easily find several other examples of such situations, where the Hoops did not manage to sign players who went on to be brilliant somewhere else.
Another name that can now be added to that list is that of Ademola Lookman. The 25-year-old Nigerian international currently plays for Atalanta in the Serie A and has been absolutely superb this season.
He has enjoyed a meteoric rise since making the move to Italy. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has scored 14 goals and provided 5 assists in 23 appearances across all competitions for Atalanta this season.
But it looks like he was a player on the radar of Celtic several years back, but they did not end up making the move. As reported by Football Scotland, Lee Congerton said:
"“I tried to get him to Celtic when I was there.“Sure, I have known him well, since he was a kid, but he’s also the one who chose us and he made the right choice. He’s a great lad and deserves all the praise and credit he’s getting. I hope he continues like this, with goals and assists, with high-level performances for the good of Atalanta.”"
Celtic had tried to sign Serie A star years before his meteoric rise in Italy with Atalanta
It is safe to say that someone like Lookman could have been a success at Celtic. And he has turned into another what if story for the club. And that is turning out to be a long list of names for sure.
Of course, Lookman has spent time at several clubs before finding his best form in Italy. He looks superb now though.
Congerton had been the chief scout at Celtic during the time of Brendan Rodgers as manager. And while his time in Glasgow was not seen as a major success, he has certainly enjoyed a career resurrection at Atalanta. As for Lookman, it would not be a surprise to see him get a move to one of Europe’s giants in the summer.