Man Utd have golden opportunity to sign perfect Rashford replacement after ‘disrespectful’ claim | OneFootball

The unpleasant situation Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini and Ademola Lookman has been escalating in recent hours, which could open the door for Manchester United.

The Nigerian has been one of the most decisive players in Bergamo over the past few years. His stunning hat-trick in the Europa League final last season remains fresh in mind. The 27-year-old has thus been a favourite of Gasperini who went on to hail him as an ‘extraordinary’ player in December.

But as we all know, things could always change in an instant in the lunatic world of football. On Wednesday night, Club Brugges stunned the Italians by scoring three unanswered goals in the first half, so La Dea needed to score four to equalise the score on aggregate. Hence, the Atalanta coach resorted to Lookman who has just returned from injury, and the latter obliged by scoring 30 seconds after the interval.

However, the situation swiftly turned sour when the striker decided to step up for spot-kick duty at the hour mark. His tame effort was comfortably denied by Simon Mignolet, and this proved to be the killer blow for Atalanta who failed to score afterwards.

Nevertheless, Gasperini wasn’t surprised by Lookman’s miss, but simply disgruntled. The legendary manager blamed the player for usurping the pecking order while describing him as one of the worst when it comes to converting spot kicks.

Ademola Lookman responds to Gian Piero Gasperini as rift grows

(Getty Images)

This prompted a reply from the player who expressed his sorrow amidst the recent accusations, while insisting he was asked to take the spot by the designated kicker (potentially referring to Mateo Retegui).

“It saddens me on a day like this to have to write this statement – most of all because of what we have achieved together as a team and as a city,” posted Lookman on social media.

“Being singled out in the manner I have been not only hurts but feels deeply disrespectful, not least because of the immense hard work and commitment I have always put in each and every day to help bring success to this club and to the incredible fans of Bergamo.

In truth, I have dealt with many difficult moments during my time here – the majority of which I have never spoken about because in my opinion the team must always be protected and must come first. This makes what happened last night even more hurtful. Along with our incredible fans, we as a team are hurting too with last night’s result.

“During the match, the designated penalty taker instructed me to take the penalty; and to support the team I took responsibility in the moment to do so. Life’s about challenges and turning pain into power which I’ll continue to do”.

These interesting developments could be music to the ears of Man United who have been following the player with great interest according to various reports.

The Red Devils will certainly need attacking reinforcement in the summer after parting ways with Marcus Rashford, and the versatile Lookman is able to cover several roles upfront, albeit his ideal position is arguably as a left attacker.