Like his compatriot Victor Osimhen, Nigeria international Ademola Lookman will not take part in Atalanta’s opening game of the 2024/25 season, having been left out of their squad after reportedly asking to leave the club for Paris Saint-Germain, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Rumour emerged on Sunday that the French giants had contacted the Nigerian’s entourage and asked about his availability.
Although no proposal has been made to the club, being linked to PSG is enough to turn the Nigeria international’s head, with Football Italia reporting that he asked not to be called up for the Lecce game on Monday (today).
Checks by our correspondent confirmed that Lookman was not listed for the Serie A trip to Lecce.
Since joining Atalanta for €9.35m plus bonuses from RB Leipzig in 2022, Lookman has been in fine form for the Black and Blues, having scored a total of 32 goals with 18 assists in 79 competitive appearances.
Lookman etched his name in the history books after he became the sixth player to score a hat-trick in a European final—a feat first achieved by Jupp Heynckes for Borussia Monchengladbach in the 1975 Uefa Cup. Lookman scored all three goals in the Italian side’s win over Bayer Leverkusen in Dublin.
Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini was counting on the Nigerian to continue with his fine form this season, but his hopes have been dealt a devastating blow.
The coach is already without Teun Koopmeiners, who is also involved with transfer talks with Juventus.
Gianluca Scamacca and Nicolo Zaniolo are out injured, leaving Mateo Retegui and Charles De Ketelaere as the only strikers available to the Bergamo boys.
Lookman’s situation is similar to that of Nigeria teammate Victor Osimhen, who also missed Napoli’s away game to Hellas Verona on Sunday, having requested to leave the club with a move to PSG and Chelsea on the card.
Napoli director Giovanni Manna last week confirmed that the Nigerian striker has requested to leave the Italian club.
Having missed all of the club’s pre-season friendlies, Osimhen was absent again for Napoli’s Coppa Italia first-round fixture against Modena at the Stadio Maradona last Saturday.
The Nigerian last appearance in an Azzurri shirt was in the club’s 0-0 draw against Lecce on the final day of the 2023/24 Serie A season.
While Napoli have confirmed that Osimhen does not feature in their plans for the new campaign, Atalanta are hoping they can keep Hold Lookman, their most prized asset, for the season.
