Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman has rejoined his Atalanta teammates in Bergamo, marking his return to training following a tumultuous period of speculations and unrest regarding his career future.
Recent reports revealed that Lookman had absented himself from training sessions for several days without permission, reportedly in a bid to engineer a move to Inter Milan.
The talented winger also earlier issued a statement where he accused Atalanta of failing to uphold promises made to him, asserting that he had been treated poorly both as a human being and as a professional footballer.
However, the move to Inter Milan has now been shelved, as the Serie A giants opted to withdraw from negotiations after failing to reach a satisfactory agreement with Atalanta.
The club’s CEO, Luca Percassi clarified that while there had been an understanding allowing Lookman to seek a transfer under certain conditions, this was limited to offers from ‘big’ clubs outside of Serie A, thus complicating any potential deal with Inter.
On Tuesday, the 27-year-old was accompanied to training by his father and a close friend, indicating his intention to reintegrate into the team. As he resumes training, Lookman now awaits potential sanctions from the Bergamo club for his prior actions.
As the new season approaches, Atalanta are set to kick off their league campaign with a fixture against newly-promoted Pisa on Sunday evening.
The club will undoubtedly be keen to ensure that Lookman’s situation was resolved swiftly as they look to make a strong start to the season.
