Atalanta boss, Ivan Juric, has shared his thoughts on the ongoing transfer saga involving Super Eagles forward, Ademola Lookman.
The Super Eagles attacker recently pushed for an exit from Bergamo, with Inter Milan showing strong interest earlier this month.
Lookman even went as far as submitting a transfer request, accusing the club of making “broken promises.” In a bid to force the move, the 27-year-old refused to attend training sessions.
“Battle of Emotions”
Speaking on the issue, Juric admitted that the drama mirrors the current state of the football market.
“The Lookman situation is typical of the transfer market in recent years. These situations punish the fans, while the player and the club look after their own interest,” Juric told Corriero dello Sport.
“The fans put their heart and soul into it, and so they feel bad. The battle is between emotions and cool heads.”
Immediate Concerns
Although Lookman has rejoined training this week, he has been working separately from the main squad after Inter withdrew their interest.
As a result, he is not expected to feature when Atalanta kick off their Serie A campaign against newly promoted Pisa on Sunday.
Lookman has gone public with his intention to leave Atalanta, accusing the club of failing to honour an agreement to let him join Inter Milan.
The 27-year-old winger took to Instagram to deliver a strongly worded statement, claiming he has been subjected to “poor treatment as a human being and a footballer.”
“There have been numerous clubs approach Atalanta in the past and I have previously always stayed loyal,” part of his post read. “However, myself and the ownership of the club have been in agreement that now is the right time and the club were clear with me that if a fair offer came in they would allow me to move.
“Despite now receiving an offer in alignment to what I believe had been discussed sadly the club are blocking the opportunity for reasons I do not understand.
“As a result and after many months of broken promises and what I feel has been poor treatment towards me as both a human being and as a professional footballer, sadly I feel I have no choice but to speak out for what I believe is right and I feel that enough is enough. I can confirm I have now handed in a formal transfer request.”
The former Everton, Fulham, and Leicester attacker insisted that Atalanta have gone back on their word, noting that the club already allowed Mateo Retegui to depart earlier in the summer.
He said the unfulfilled promises pushed him to officially submit a transfer request, which he announced in his lengthy social media post.
Inter Milan have been pursuing Lookman since mid-July and have long reached an agreement with the Nigerian international on personal terms.
The Nerazzurri first tabled a bid worth €40 million, which Atalanta rejected. They later increased the offer to €45 million including bonuses, but La Dea once again refused to sell.
In the meantime, Atalanta secured the signing of Polish wing-back Nicola Zalewski, who left Inter Milan just seven months after joining.
The 23-year-old, who featured in 17 matches including the Champions League final, switched to Atalanta for a reported €17 million, although the club did not disclose the official fee.
