Questions continue to surround the future of Ademola Lookman at Atalanta as the Nigerian forward was noticeably absent in their opening Serie A fixture of the season.
Atalanta kicked off their 2025/2026 Serie A campaign on Sunday, August 24, 2025, where they played a draw against the newly promoted Pisa at the Gewiss Stadium, and it was no surprise that the absence of Ademola Lookman was noticed as the African Footballer of the Year was not even included in the 23 man squad for the fixture.
Speaking on the ongoing transfer saga for the first time, Atalanta head coach Ivan Jurić in his first Serie A press conference, compared Lookman’s case to similar incidents elsewhere in Europe.
“I think this situation has been created in recent years now with various players, not just Atalanta, we also see Newcastle, Brentford, and the ones that are really penalised are the fans,” Jurić said.
“Because in any case the clubs and agents look after their own interests. And instead the fans put their emotions and heart into it and are left feeling bad.
“And then there is always a struggle between total honesty, emotion, reasoning about what’s best to achieve results, and the game in the end is what you want in your club.”
What’s next for Ademola Lookman?
Ademola Lookman, who was confirmed to have resumed training with Atalanta on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, when his proposed move to Inter Milan in the summer window failed, was revealed to have been fined after missing training for 15 days.
Questions surrounding his future remain unanswered, as it remains to be seen if the Nigerian forward will be reintegrated into the squad or a possible exit will happen as things stand. However, Mola Lookman is currently not training with the main squad, according to reports, and this is expected to remain the case until after the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Read the Latest Sports News and Updates and Get Fresh updates on X and on Facebook
