As speculation about the Europa League hero’s potential transfer to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) surfaced on Sunday, Ademola Lookman was left out of Atalanta’s squad for their Serie A opener against Lecce.
With a spectacular hat-trick that defeated German champions Bayer Leverkusen in May and gave the historically provincial club its first European trophy—a big accolade of any kind—Lookman, a forward from Nigeria, went on to become an Atalanta legend.
However, the 26-year-old was not included in the squad announced on Sunday for Atalanta’s trip south, where Gian Piero Gasperini’s side will begin their league campaign on Monday evening.
Italian media have widely reported that Lookman’s representatives have told Atalanta of PSG’s interest as the club go through an eventful summer transfer window.
On Sunday Serbia midfielder Lazar Samardzic arrived in Bergamo for his medical ahead of a 20 million euro ($22 million) move to Atalanta from Udinese, as another of last season’s heroes Teun Koopmeiners agitates for a move to Juventus.
Koopmeiners was also not named in the 23-man squad for the Lecce match, but Atalanta have as yet refused to agree terms with Juve who are rebuilding their team for new coach Thiago Motta.
Atalanta lost centre-forward Gianluca Scamacca to a serious knee injury earlier this month, causing them to sign his Italy teammate Mateo Retegui from Genoa.
Ademola Lookman, who has played 23 times for Nigeria, scored three goals in his country’s run to African Cup of Nations final over January and February.
