Europa League winners Atalanta have announced the official deal with Genoa for Mateo Retegui’s big-money move to Bergamo. The 25-year-old center-forward underwent medical on Thursday morning before putting pen to paper on a four-year contract.
Atalanta reportedly paid Genoa €25 m upfront to land the ex-Club Tigre star. La Dea will splash out another €3m in add-ons if Retegui’s move to the Gewiss Stadium lives up to expectations. The Argentine-born striker will replace his national team colleague Gianluca Scamacca.
Following an underwhelming EURO 2024 campaign, Scamacca hoped to turn his fortunes around at Atalanta. However, the former Sassuolo and West Ham United succumbed to a long-term knee injury in a pre-season friendly. He’ll likely stay on the sidelines for six months with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
Scamacca’s injury forced Atalanta to act quickly in the market. With less than a fortnight left before the start of the new campaign, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men chose Retegui to lead the line in the Italian star’s absence. Retegui still has a point to prove following an injury-plagued first season in Serie A.
He only netted seven goals and delivered assists across 29 appearances for Genoa. That’s hardly enough to quench Gasperini’s ever-present thirst for goals. Therefore, Atalanta can only hope the club-record signing, El Bilal Toure, will find his footing in Italy after an injury-hit 2023/24 campaign.
Worryingly for Atalanta, they’re on the verge of losing Teun Koopmeiners. Gasperini confirmed he Dutchman’s keen to join Juventus.
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