Europa League winners Atalanta and Turkish heavyweights Galatasaray are working on the final details to facilitate Nicolo Zaniolo’s return to Serie A. According to Gianluca Di Marzio, the former Roma ace will soon join La Dea on a season-long loan with an option to buy for a total of €17 million.
Zaniolo has been homesick since his short-term spell at Aston Villa went sideways last season. The 25-year-old has been desperate to return to Italy, with Atalanta and Fiorentina going head-to-head for his signature for weeks. La Dea will seemingly come out on top of this tug-of-war.
It looks like the forward’s switch to Bergamo is a mere formality. Atalanta will reportedly pay Galatasaray an unnamed figure to onboard Zaniolo on loan. They’ll also have an option to make his move permanent next summer.
An appearance-related clause will trigger an automatic purchase. Per the report, the option will become mandatory if Zaniolo appears in 70% of the Gewiss Stadium club’s matches in 2024/25. Gian Piero Gasperini could revive the Italian’s faltering career, as he did with Ademola Lookman.
Lookman carried Atalanta to their first-ever European success in 2023/24 en route to being named the club’s player of the season for the second year on the trot. Zaniolo will hope to partner up with the Nigerian next term as he works on recovering from a fractured metatarsal.
A nasty injury forced him off Italy’s underwhelming Euro 2024 campaign. Despite his recent fitness problems, Atalanta will give the left-footed attacker the benefit of the doubt.
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