Antonio Percassi has expressed optimism about the relationship between head coach Gian Piero Gasperini and Super Eagles winger Ademola Lookman......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
The club owner joined the team for lunch during their training session on Thursday.
He took the opportunity to address the brewing crisis surrounding Lookman’s missed penalty in their UEFA Champions League exit.
Percassi’s intervention aimed to diffuse tensions and support both the player and the coach during this challenging time.
Lookman going ‘Nowhere’
Antonio Percassi hinted that the club intends to keep Ademola Lookman till the end of the season.
According to SkySports, the spat occurred after Lookman returned from injury as a half-time substitute in Atalanta’s Champions League play-off second leg against Club Brugge.
The winger came on when they were 5-1 down on aggregate but took just 36 seconds to pull a goal back per UEFA.
As a result of the penalty loss, coach Gian Piero Gasperini labelled the AFCON silver medallist ‘one of the worst penalty-takers’.
After leading the club to the Europa League title last season and scoring a hat-trick in the final, the player attracted interest from several clubs eager to secure his signature.
Lookman reportedly reached a personal agreement with French giants Paris Saint-Germain, but the deal fell through on deadline day, per Kickoff.
Gasperini yet to apologise
Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini has yet to apologise to the former Everton player following his outburst.
According to Sky Sports, the club’s owner confirmed that the coach has not commented on the incident at the training ground.
After their UEFA Champions League exit, Gasperini said:
“Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty, he is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,” Gasperini said after the 5-2 aggregate defeat.
“He has a frankly terrible record even in training, he converts very few of them.
“Retegui and De Ketelaere were there, but Lookman in a moment of enthusiasm after scoring decided to take the ball and that was a gesture I did not appreciate at all.”
Retegui told me to take the penalty
Ademola Lookman claimed that Atalanta’s number one penalty-taker Mateo Retegui told him to take the spot-kick against Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League match.
The winger expressed displeasure over the hurtful words of coach Gasperini per Eurosports.
CAF, NFF show support for Lookman
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Confederation of African Football and the Nigeria Football Federation have thrown their weight behind the reigning African football player of the year.
The NFF president Ibrahim Gusau promised to stand solidly behind the player while CAF hailed the player for his exploits.