Nigerian sensation delivers blow to Chelsea

Carlo Garganese

Updated: 12 Mar 2025 13:12 GMT
4 min read

Ademola Lookman has delivered a blow to Chelsea and all interested clubs after he made peace with Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini.

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Lookman hit the headlines a few weeks ago after a very public bust-up with his Atalanta manager Gasperini following the club's elimination from the Champions League.

Gasperini publicly slammed Lookman for taking - and missing - a penalty in the playoff defeat to Club Brugge.

This led to Lookman hitting back at Gasperini on social media, and the relationship between the pair became broken.

This breakdown was cited as a reason why there was no chance of Lookman staying at Atalanta this summer, with Chelsea leading the chase for the Nigerian.

However, Lookman and Gasperini have now kissed and made up.

On Sunday, Lookman scored and helped inspire Atalanta to a historic 4-0 win over Juventus in Turin.

Upon being substituted with 10 minutes remaining, Gasperini is reported to have said to Lookman: “Can I give you a hug, can you give me a nice smile?."

This led to a big hug between the pair on the touchline.

After the game Gasperini said: “Lookman made Atalanta great, and Atalanta made him great. I am convinced he can be the captain before the end of the season."

The Italian media now say the two are on good terms again.

This comes as bad news for Chelsea, however the overall feeling is that Lookman will still likely leave Atalanta at the end of the season.

It is believed that Atalanta and Lookman agreed last summer that this would be his final season at the club if an acceptable offer is received this coming summer.

Chelsea, Arsenal and Man Utd are the three main Premier League sides fighting it out to sign the Nigerian star.

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An agreement was made between Lookman and Atalanta last summer that he would be allowed to leave at the end of the 2024-25 season.

The African Footballer of the Year is currently considered as one of the most exciting players in European football.

He scored a legendary hattrick for Atalanta in the 3-0 Europa League final victory over Bayer Leverkusen last May.

He has continued his brilliant form into the 2024/2025 season, scoring 18 goals and delivering seven assists in all competitions.

PSG close to Lookman last summer

This has attracted the interest of some of Europe’s biggest clubs, with PSG close to signing the Nigerian last summer.

In the closing days of the summer window, PSG turned Lookman’s head and he agreed personal terms on a contract worth €5 million year until 2029.

Lookman stunned Atalanta by informing them that he wanted to leave the club for PSG.

This move infuriated Atalanta, who reluctantly were forced to leave Lookman out of their squad for their opening game of the Serie A season, a 4-0 win at Lecce.

Eventually, the move did not go through and Lookman was reintegrated into the Atalanta team.