Inter Milan, the 2025 Champions League finalists, have expressed interest in the Nigerian. Atalanta recently rejected their offer of €45 million, including bonuses.
Due to an original contract with the player, Atalanta seemed unlikely to change their mind and trade Lookman to their league rivals, Inter Milan.
After snapping at the club’s leadership on Sunday, the player responded by skipping Monday’s training.
“Ademola Lookman continued to insist on leaving Atalanta, thus he failed to show up for training today. Atalanta holds their ground. He cannot be let go for the €42 million + €3 million offer that was turned down last week. Inter hasn’t made a new offer as of yet, transfer analyst Fabrizio Romano wrote.
Because of the ongoing trade, Lookman’s relationship with the club had soured, and on Sunday he declared that he had made an official transfer request.
While Atalanta has maintained its €50 million valuation, Lookman moved to Instagram to post a statement outlining his version of events and the reasons behind his decision to make a formal transfer request after Inter’s most recent proposal was rejected.
Despite his belief that “it is the right time to move on and experience a new adventure,” the former forward for Fulham, Leicester, Everton, and RB Leipzig has accused Atalanta of “blocking the opportunity for reasons I do not understand.”
Following Lookman’s tirade, Atalanta stated that they don’t find his actions shocking because they witnessed him remove all of their social media connections the day before.
Luca Percassi, the club’s CEO, has also stated that the team has an agreement to let Lookman go this summer, but only for teams outside of Serie A.
“This is an excellent chance to explain what transpired,” Percassi told reporters through TMW.
“The player had requested that we be sold last year following a €20 million offer from PSG.
“As a respectable club, Atalanta had committed to selling the player this window on two terms that he had requested from us. First, to attend a very prestigious club in Europe, and second, considering what he accomplished for the team and what he got in return, he would never be seen in Italy wearing a shirt other than Atalanta’s.
As you are aware, things are extremely different today. The club is always cautious when assessing the timing and worth of its players, but ultimately, Atalanta makes the final decision.
The “gentleman’s agreement” Lookman mentioned was reached when PSG approached last summer, according to another club statement.
“A gentleman’s agreement was the primary source of the promises the player alludes to in his lengthy tirade; they are not supported by any written clause. Above all, though, they are connected to a year ago, when there was just a brief altercation with PSG, from which no genuine negotiations resulted because the amount that the Parisian club assumed was far less than what Atalanta had anticipated.
