Atalanta Searching For a Way to Reel Lookman In | OneFootball

The transfer market has closed everywhere, but Ademola Lookman hasn’t resumed playing with Atalanta. He has been left out of the squad list for the past two fixtures. He featured with Nigeria during the recent international break, but he has continued to train separately from the rest of the group afterward.

According to Tuttomercatoweb, co-owner Stephen Pagliuca is in Bergamo to try to resolve the situation. He has a good personal relationship with the player, whom he defended when Gian Piero Gasperini slammed him for a missed PK last year.

On the other hand, the agents are hell-bent on maintaining the status quo to force Atalanta to sell Lookman in January. They believe the team has broken some promises and don’t want to mend fences.

The Bergamaschi are in touch with the entourage and could offer a contract renewal to smooth things over. The new deal wouldn’t delay the 2027 expiration date, but it would raise his wages and include a release clause, possibly around €40M.

La Dea reportedly asked for more than €45M when Inter approached them during the summer. They also did so to prove a point following the sudden departure of Mateo Retegui.

Our Take on Lookman and Atalanta

The situation is beyond absurd at this point, and it wouldn’t do anybody any good if he didn’t play until AFCON. While it was fair for the club to hold firm initially, the officials should have perceived that the rift was beyond repair during the transfer market window. Nothing can be excluded when owners intervene, but it’d be surprising if he obtained something more than a temporary truce.