Atalanta announced their matchday squad of 23 players for their opening match of the 2025-26 Serie A season against newly-promoted Pisa yesterday evening, confirming the decision to omit Ademola Lookman after his failed attempt to leave the club this summer.
 
Lookman saw a €45m transfer bid from Inter rejected by Atalanta earlier this summer, which led to the Nigeria international submitting a formal transfer request and a statement accusing the club of breaking promises and treating him poorly as a professional and as a human being.
 
CEO Luca Percassi later confirmed that there was an agreement in place to let Lookman leave this summer, but only if an appropriate offer were to come in from a ‘top’ club outside of Serie A.
 
Lookman then decided to take a two-week unauthorised absence to return to the UK while waiting for a move to Inter to materialise; however, the Nerazzurri later pulled out of the deal and have instead decided to sign midfielder Andy Diouf in a change of transfer strategy.
 
Lookman is now training individually at Atalanta and was not included in the matchday squad for yesterday’s clash against Atalanta.  There was, however, space in the Atalanta squad for new signings Nikola Krstovic, Kamaldeen Sulemana, and 17-year-old Nigerian youngster, Honest Ahanor.
 
There was also room in the squad for Italy internationals Giorgio Scalvini and Gianluca Scamacca after their injury-ridden 2024-25 campaigns.