‘I begged them, sign this guy’: Galatasaray insider slams club for missing out on Lookman

Galatasaray insider Süleyman Rodop has faulted the club for failing to secure the signing of Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman during the January transfer window.

According to Rodop, he made several calls to Galatasaray’s top executives to sign the Nigeria international from Atalanta.

However, Lookman eventually moved to Atletico Madrid after Galatasaray’s rivals Fenerbahçe, who at one point were the leading candidate to prise him away from the Italian club, failed to complete the deal despite agreeing to Atalanta’s price tag.

Lookman has since wasted no time settling down at the Wanda Metropolitano, hitting the ground running.

He has scored two goals and registered two assists in three matches for Atletico. He stole the show on Thursday night in the Copa del Rey first-leg semi-final against Barcelona, scoring and providing an assist.

Rodop, who spoke on the back of Lookman’s impressive display, praised the performance of the former African Footballer of the Year while lamenting what Galatasaray missed out on.

“Lookman went right through Barcelona. I’ve lost count of how many times,” Rodop was quoted as saying by *Habersarikirmizi*.

‘I called the executives during the transfer window, begging them, ‘Sign this guy, and the championship will be guaranteed.’’

He added that Galatasaray should be thankful Fenerbahçe failed to sign the Eagles forward.

‘They should be thankful that Fenerbahçe couldn’t provide the guarantee letter at the last minute,’ Rodop stated.