Spanish La Liga giants Atletico Madrid are reportedly plotting a summer transfer swoop for Super Eagles and Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman, Soccernet.football understands.
Atleti are reportedly preparing for life without French talisman Antoine Griezmann, as they expect him to leave the Spanish capital for Major League Soccer at the end of the current campaign. The club’s board have drawn up a three-man list of possible replacements including Lautaro Martinez, Alexander Isak and Ademola Lookman.
While Martinez would be Diego Simeone’s most preferred option to replace Griezmann, successfully negotiating a deal with Inter Milan will be a huge mountain to climb.
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The 2022 World Cup winner, under contract until June 2029, is the Nerazzurri’s talisman and convincing the Italian champions to part ways with their skipper will be a tough task for any club in Europe.
Los Rojiblancos are also considering Newcastle United’s red-hot striker, Isak, as a potential replacement for Griezmann. The lanky Swede is currently enjoying scintillating form for the Magpies in the Premier League with 19 goals to his name so far this season.
However, Newcastle’s valuation of the striker and their reluctance to part ways with the former Real Sociedad man could prove to be a major stumbling block.
According to Spanish media outlet Fichajes, Atletico Madrid view Nigeria and Atalanta star man Lookman as the ‘most accessible option’. Lookman’s current Atalanta contract is due to expire in the summer of 2026, making negotiations to prise the 27-year-old away from Bergamo much more straightforward compared to the two other options on Atleti’s shortlist.
The exciting winger, who won the African Men’s Footballer of the Year award in 2024 after an impressive campaign with Atalanta and the Super Eagles, scored 14 goals and provided 7 assists for Atalanta this season before a nasty knee injury sidelined him for the past few weeks.
