Percassi: ‘Atalanta had ugly surprises, but want to keep’ Koopmeiners and Lookman | OneFootball

Atalanta CEO Luca Percassi admits they had ‘some ugly surprises’ in the transfer market, but leaves the door open for Teun Koopmeiners and Ademola Lookman to stay. ‘We want to keep our best players.’

The trip to Lecce kicks off at the Stadio Via del Mare at 17.30 UK time (16.30 GMT).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Juventus-Como on the LIVEBLOG.

They now begin the campaign as reigning Europa League holders, having qualified for the Champions League, so are they raising the bar this season?

“I always reaffirm what my father says, we are Atalanta, we must retain our identity and have clear objectives. It is also true that last season, for the first time, the coach, club and directors aimed to keep all the big plyers who were the protagonists of an extraordinary campaign with Atalanta,” Percassi told Sky Sport Italia.

“That was the idea, to confirm all our first-choice players. We were aware there could be turbulence on the transfer market. We didn’t expect certain things to happen, but the club is prepared to invest, if there are opportunities then we are prepared to take them, and we’ll see what happens over the next few days.”

Atalanta not giving up on Koopmeiners and Lookman

The mood behind the scenes in Bergamo is dire after Wednesday’s 2-0 UEFA Super Cup defeat to Real Madrid, because while Koopmeiners had already refused to play in order to push through a transfer to Juventus, now Lookman has asked not to be involved in today’s match after receiving an offer from Paris Saint-Germain.

It is reported they are furious, but Percassi tried to be as diplomatic as possible.

“We are very relaxed because our idea, shared by coach, club and owners, was for the first time in our history not to let these important players go. We as a club have always respected our commitments and we cannot wait for this transfer window to close, as it reserved a few ugly surprises too, like Gianluca Scamacca’s injury.

“All players belong to Atalanta and the club will decide what to do for the good of this team.”

Does that mean Percassi and Atalanta are leaving the door open for Koopmeiners and Lookman to come back into the fold, if the offers are unsatisfactory?

“Unfortunately, too often these lads are given bad advice. The fact the transfer market is open when games are played frankly makes it feel like it’s infinite. We had tried to regulate the timing of these things over the summer, but it was not possible because the Saudi Arabian leagues wanted an extension.

“I do feel this needs to be regulated better.”