Atalanta sporting director Tony D’Amico has confirmed that a decision on Ademola Lookman’s future will only be made at the end of the summer transfer window, as tensions continue to simmer over the Nigerian forward’s push for a move.
Lookman has been at the centre of a drawn-out transfer saga after Inter Milan saw a €45 million bid rejected by Atalanta earlier this summer.
Read Also: Five Premier League clubs join race for Ademola Lookman
The 27-year-old reacted by submitting a transfer request, accusing the club of “breaking promises”, and even took a two-week unauthorised leave from training.
Speaking ahead of Atalanta’s Serie A opener against Pisa, D’Amico told DAZN via TMW.
“Lookman is not training with the group, and we are experiencing more and more situations like this. We are sorry for everyone, but right now this is the situation. We’ll make assessments at the end of the transfer window. As of today, there’s disappointment.”
Lookman’s future now hinges on whether Atalanta decides to reintegrate him into the squad in September or extend his exclusion beyond the transfer deadline.
The forward’s determination to join Inter in early August ultimately stalled when the Nerazzurri failed to meet Atalanta’s €50m valuation. Lookman further stoked speculation by deleting photos in Atalanta colours from his Instagram before briefly returning to training last week.
Currently frozen out of the first team and training individually, Lookman will miss Atalanta’s Serie A Round 2 fixture as well.
Despite the uncertainty, the Nigerian remains under contract until June 2027. He has scored 52 goals in 118 appearances for La Dea and played a starring role in their historic Europa League triumph last season, earning the 2024 African Ballon d’Or after netting a hat-trick in the final against Bayer Leverkusen.
