Atalanta ahead Ademola Lookman may quickly have a brand new supervisor following the membership’s 3-0 defeat to Sassuolo on Sunday, a end result that has positioned head coach Ivan Juric underneath stress.
Lookman’s time in Bergamo has been removed from easy. The Nigerian worldwide reportedly fell out with former supervisor Gian Piero Gasperini final season and tried to go away the membership through the summer season switch window, however his transfer was blocked.
His resolution to skip Atalanta’s pre-season preparations affected his health, and the 28-year-old has since struggled to seek out kind, scoring just one objective throughout all competitions for membership and nation this season.
Tensions between Lookman and Juric grew worse through the 1-0 UEFA Champions League win over Olympique de Marseille final week, when the Nigerian was substituted for Yunus Musah. The ahead reacted angrily, resulting in a short confrontation between each males on the touchline. The state of affairs has since drawn criticism from former gamers, who felt the coach dealt with the matter poorly.
Lookman has now unfollowed Atalanta’s official social media accounts, sparking additional hypothesis about his relationship with the membership.
In the meantime, stress continues to mount on Juric, whose workforce sits within the backside half of Serie A with 13 factors from 11 matches. The Croatian has managed solely 4 wins in 15 video games since taking cost in July, giving him a win fee of simply 27 p.c.
Stories in Italy counsel that Atalanta officers have began discussions about attainable replacements, with Thiago Motta and Roberto Mancini among the many names being thought-about.
Juric, nonetheless, insists he’s not apprehensive about dropping his job. After the Sassuolo defeat, he admitted that each he and the gamers underperformed however maintained that he has not had any discussions with the membership’s board about his future.
For Lookman, a change in administration may provide a recent begin. Since serving to Atalanta win the UEFA Europa League underneath Gasperini, the Nigerian has been linked with a number of golf equipment, however the workforce’s refusal to promote him has created frustration.
Whereas a training change may ease the stress at Bergamo, Lookman’s major want might be to revive his profession elsewhere — a transfer that may lastly deliver the smile again to considered one of Nigeria’s brightest attacking abilities.
