Football: Atalanta ‘set asking price’ for Ademola Lookman as Galatasaray plot winter swoop
La Dea place €50m pricetag on Ademola Lookman’s signature
At the end of the 2024-25 Serie A season, many Atalanta fans expected that they had seen the last of Ademola Lookman in the famous Black and Blue, as the attacker had made clear that he wanted to be moved on in the summer.
However, La Dea’s board vetoed his departure, which led to the Nigerian international commencing a lengthy stand-off with the club before finally returning to action for I Nerazzurri after the start of the current campaign.
However, the 28-year-old has looked a long way from the type of form that saw him lead the team to the Europa League title a couple of years ago, and it seems that the club are now willing to allow him to leave in the upcoming transfer window.
Lookman has only scored one goal in 11 matches across all competitions this season and looked well off the pace this past weekend when his side was beaten 3-1 by Napoli, a result that also confirmed our Serie A predictions for the match.
Reports out of Italy in the past week have revealed that Turkish Super Lig champions Galatasaray have expressed serious interest in signing Lookman this winter, as they look to bolster their squad in hopes of retaining their league title and challenging in the Champions League.
However, Atalanta have shown in the past that they are tough negotiators, having turned down the likes of PSG and Inter Milan previously. It is understood that La Dea have now asked for a staggering €50m to part ways with the Nigerian attacker.
Osimhen to serve as driving force behind Lookman’s transfer?
Since the news broke that Galatasaray had made inquiries over the availability of Lookman, further reports have surfaced suggesting that the Lions’ board has tasked Victor Osimhen with trying to persuade his compatriot to make the switch to Istanbul.
Both Lookman and Osimhen recently featured for the Super Eagles in their unsuccessful World Cup qualification campaign, and they are under a month away from rejoining forces when they head off to Morocco for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Indeed, the AFCON, which runs over a month, could provide plenty of time for Osimhen to convince Lookman to move, especially if their chemistry builds and Nigeria makes a deep run in the tournament following their World Cup disappointment.
Lookman played in the Premier League and Bundesliga for Fulham and Leipzig, respectively, and originally joined the Bergamo-based club at the start of the 2022-23 season for a fee of €10m. His current contract with La Dea runs until the summer of 2027.
