Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman was absent from Atalanta training on Monday, escalating a growing standoff between the Nigerian star and the Serie A club over a potential move to Inter Milan.
Lookman, 27, skipped the club’s training session at Zingonia — their first since returning from a preseason friendly win over RB Leipzig. He also missed team lunch, which was not mandatory, and was a no-show for his scheduled individual therapy session, despite recovering from a calf injury. The winger had trained alone at the club’s facilities over the weekend.
The situation between Lookman and Atalanta has deteriorated rapidly in recent days. On Sunday, the Nigerian publicly released a statement asking the club to grant him permission to leave this summer, referencing a verbal agreement made last year.
“After many months of broken promises and poor treatment, I feel enough is enough,” Lookman said in the statement. “I can confirm I have now handed in a formal transfer request.”
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Tensions were already evident when Lookman deleted all Atalanta-related photos from his Instagram account, signaling a breakdown in his relationship with the club. According to reports, he had earlier asked to be excluded from the Leipzig match to avoid injury risk amid interest from Inter.
The forward believes Atalanta reneged on a gentleman’s agreement made last summer, after a €20 million bid from PSG was turned down. Lookman says he was assured he could leave this year if a top club came calling.
However, Atalanta CEO Luca Percassi insists the agreement only applied to offers from European heavyweights outside of Italy.
“Last year, faced with a €20 million offer from PSG, the player asked us to sell him,” Percassi said.
“Atalanta promised they could sell him this transfer window based on two conditions he himself had asked for: first, to join a super-top European club — and second, not a club in Italy.”
Lookman’s camp strongly disagrees, saying the clause never excluded domestic transfers and that the club’s position was never formally communicated.
Inter Milan remain interested but cautious. A meeting between Lookman’s representatives and Atalanta is expected in the coming days, and its outcome may determine whether Inter will relaunch their bid. Atalanta, however, are holding firm on their €50 million valuation, plus bonuses.
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