Ademola Lookman missed two games at the start of the season after PSG showed interest in him, but he has been unaffected by the transfer saga afterward. He had another tremendous display against Shakhtar Donetsk midweek. He’s up to three goals and two assists in five appearances so far.
According to Calciomercato, while the player was keen on transferring, the case subsided quickly once it became apparent that there weren’t the conditions for the switch to happen. There was a gulf between the offer and the demand.
Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini has a frank relationship with Lookman, which helped mend fences near the end of the window. The Nigerian star guaranteed maximum effort to try to do better than last season, which culminated in a hat-trick in the Europa League final.
The striker has been tipped to renew his contract and receive a significant pay bump. There’s not a ton of urgency about it for now. While La Dea might reward him eventually, he’s tied to them until 2026 with an option for one further season. On the other hand, his wages are way lower than what he could make in a European powerhouse.
Our Take on Atalanta and Lookman
Perhaps the Bergamaschi held on so long for Teun Koopmeiners hoping something similar would happen, but the Dutchman believed he’d been promised to depart last summer and did everything he could to force his way out. Relatively low salaries are part of their strategy, but at some point, they’ll have to raise the bar if they wish to keep ahold of their coveted centerpieces for multiple years.
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