Atalanta have gone back to an old target to shore up the midfield and appear close to landing him. They had pursued Teun Koopmeiners earlier in the window, but they could not come to terms with AZ Alkmaar. The elimination from the Europa League might have been a factor.
The midfielder hinted at it speaking to De Telegraaf: “I think we are at the point where the two clubs could reach an agreement. You need all three parties to be on the same page and earn something from the transfer. I think we are closing in on such moment.”
According to Alfredo Pedullà, Atalanta had offered €15M, while AZ initially asked for €20M. The two clubs may now move from their respective positions and meet in the middle. The player is pushing to complete the move. He has already discussed personal terms with the Bergamaschi. He would ink a four-year contract with a €1.5M salary.
Atalanta were the first Italian side to chase after the Dutchman. Roma and Napoli also showed some interest, but they considered him too pricey. The Goddess then moved onto other options, such as Sofyan Amrabat and Morten Thorsby. However, they were unable to seal the deals with Fiorentina and Sampdoria quickly.
It seems that they are now approaching a breakthrough on Koopmeiners. The 23-year-old set-piece specialist is coming off a very productive campaign where he hit the net 15 times and provided 5 assists. He was part of the Netherlands squad that took part in the Euro.