Ademola Lookman, the Super Eagles forward, has been left out of Atalanta’s squad for their week one match against Lecce, which will be held today.
According to Italy Football TV, the potential African Footballer of the Year was left out of the 23-man squad traveling to Lecce after being heavily linked with PSG, who are preparing a transfer for him before the summer transfer window closes.
Lookman, 26, was part of the Atalanta team that fell to a late 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid during the Super Cup final on Friday, playing the entire 90 minutes in Warsaw, Poland.
The Nigerian forward scored 17 goals and made 10 assists across all competitions for Atalanta BC last season, becoming the club’s second top scorer (17) behind Italian Gianluca Scamacca. He was also awarded the title of the club’s best player for the season.
In the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen last season, he guided the team to its first major trophy in 61 years, scoring a hat trick in the final. He became the first African player to score twice and a hat trick in a major European tournament and joined Nigerian compatriots Alex Iwobi and Joe Aribo as the only Nigerian players to score in the final of a major UEFA competition.
He was also pivotal for the Super Eagles of Nigeria during the 2024 AFCON, where his three goals helped the team reach the final, though they unfortunately lost to host nation Ivory Coast by 2-1.
