Two European Giants Are Gunning For Ademola Lookman’s Signature This Summer

Written By Onyeka Daniel

It’s been almost over a month since the departure of Gian Piero Gasperini from Italian giants, Atalanta and now, with the transfer in full swing, it looks like the club might be losing more than just their manager after securing champions league football for another season.

More Details

With Gasperini’s move to Roma, the La Dea could lose at least three top players as clubs are already circling for Mateo Retegui, Ederson and Ademola Lookman while Matteo Ruggeri has already joined Atletico Madrid. According to reports, the Nigerian forward has already been approached by Arsenal.

LATEST POSTS

On the other hand, Spanish LaLiga giants, Atletico Madrid are in the running too. Lookman was named African Player of the Year thanks to his performances for La Dea, including a hat-trick in the Europa League Final victory over Bayer Leverkusen two years back.

He could well be moving on this summer and the most likely option was Arsenal, who revived their negotiations and were not scared off by the €50m asking price. The Gunners have some real competition, because Atletico Madrid also asked over a potential transfer deal.

He scored 20 goals with seven assists in 40 official games for the Bergamo side last season. Atalanta have already done business with the Spanish club in this transfer window, having sold their youth team product Ruggeri for a fee of around €20m including add-ons.

The 22-year-old could yet be joined by his teammate Lookman in Madrid soon. In a related development, Udinese striker Lorenzo Lucca is seen as the first alternative for not just Napoli in case of Darwin Nunez failure, but also by Atalanta if Retegui is sold for the asking price of €60m.

According to reports, Udinese are ready to listen to offers for the striker since January and the Partenopei seems to be one of the interested clubs, though they have eyes on other targets as well. Now the Italy international is finding himself in a similar position on the Atalanta list.

The Bergamo club are looking around in case a club like Al-Qadsiah meets the €60m demand for Retegui. There has been interest from Milan too, but clubs from the Saudi Pro League are more likely to pay that sum for the ex-Genoa centre-forward and if Retegui does leave, then Lucca would be seen as a valid alternative.

It is also worth noting that he was already a target back in February during the final hours of the mid-season transfer window, but now, Udinese want €30m to let Lucca leave this summer, after he found the net 12 times in 33 Serie A appearances last season.

Furthermore, Ghanaian winger, Kamaldeen Sulemana has completed his transfer from Southampton to Atalanta as the 23-year-old joins on a four-year deal, with an option for a fifth year. The deal is reportedly worth an initial €17.5 million, plus €4 million in add-ons.

For Southampton, they placed a 15% sell-on clause for any future transfer as the move reunites Sulemana with his former Southampton manager Ivan Juric (Gasperini’s replacement at Atalanta) who played a key role in securing the winger’s signature.

Read Also: Jonathan David Is Done And Osimhen Is Next For Juventus Despite The Antics From Vlahovic

Juric, known for his attacking philosophy, is expected to provide an environment well suited to Sulemana’s flair and speed on the flanks. At Southampton, the winger started 12/16 games under Juric and played in his longest run of games since leaving France.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube

Do you have a story tip?
Kindly Email: keepup@bettitude.com