Atalanta Predicted Lineup vs Lecce: Ademola Lookman Set For Frosty Reception In Bergamo

Ademola Lookman has returned to Atalanta training with hopes of starting in La Dea’s upcoming clash against Lecce and you can find our predicted lineup below.

Will Ademola Lookman Start Against Lecce?

The Nigerian international endured a difficult summer transfer window, as he looked to be leaving Atalanta after making a very public transfer request.

After the Bergamo-based side failed to exceed their 2023/24 Europa League success last season, Lookman decided that his time with Atalanta must come to an end.

Multiple clubs were showing heavy interest in the former Premier League star, but it was Inter Milan that were making the biggest steps to sign the Nigerian.

Cristian Chivu’s side made multiple bids for Lookman, reaching $53 million, but Atalanta rejected the Nerazzurri’s offers on every occasion.

Inter ended their pursuit, believing Atalanta’s asking price was far too high and that looked to be the end of Lookman’s transfer saga – until Deadline Day arrived.

Bayern Munich made a last-minute approach to Atalanta for their star player, offering a loan deal with a buy-option of around $25m which was swiftly declined.

While this transfer saga was unfolding, Lookman had made the decision to skip training and refused to compete in any of Atalanta’s pre-season fixtures.

Leading to a series of hefty fines and the Nigerian was forced to train alone, before he was finally allowed back into first-team sessions on September 11th.

This means that Lookman is unlikely to feature against Lecce on Sunday 14th September, but the 27-year-old could return in Atalanta’s opening Champions League fixture.

La Dea will face one of their biggest tests of this season on MD1 of the UCL, as the 2024 Europa League champions face Paris Saint-Germain away from home.

However, Ivan Juric will not be looking past Atalanta’s next Serie A clash, as La Dea welcome Lecce to Bergamo and look to pick up their first win of the season.

Atalanta have kicked-off their Serie A campaign with consecutive 1-1 stalemates against Pisa and Parma, which has caused some concern to supporters.

Although Atalanta are yet to hit form, Lecce come into the game in an even worse position as Eusebio Di Francesco’s side are yet to score a goal.

Lecce were held to a 0-0 draw by Genoa on the opening day of the season and suffered a 2-0 defeat to AC Milan just under a week later.

Atalanta Team News

With Ademola Lookman lacking match fitness, Ivan Juric is unlikely to throw the Nigerian into the upcoming clash against Lecce – but he could take up a place on the bench.

La Dea were dealt a major blow in the attacking lineup just before the international break, as Gianluca Scamacca was forced out of the Azzurri squad through injury.

The Italian has only just recovered from a major knee operation and looked to be back after playing in Atalanta’s opening two league matches.

Scamacca’s absence could see Nikola Krstovic make his first league start for Atalanta, meaning the Albanian would lead the line against the club he left during the summer.

Ivan Juric will also be missing Ederson, Sead Kolasinac and Mitchel Bakker, as the trio continue to recover from knee injuries.

Atalanta Predicted Lineup vs Lecce