Ademola Lookman to Spurs? Fabrizio Romano reveals the state of play

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 3 Sept 2025 09:02 BST
• 5 min read

News

Fabrizio Romano says that Ademola Lookman is likely to stay at Atalanta for the rest of this year amidst reports linking him to Galatasaray and says Tottenham considered a late move for the Nigerian.

The main European transfer window closed on Monday evening, with Lookman failing to earn himself the big transfer he craved.

Current ETV

Ademola Lookman

F, AM (C)

Atalanta

Ademola Lookman

F, AM (C)

Atalanta

€49.7M

ETV Range

€44.7M - €54.7M

View full profile

Lookman had been desperate to join a major club and even went on strike when Atalanta refused to sell him to Inter Milan.

There have been strong reports that with the transfer window still open in Turkey, Lookman could yet move to Galatasaray.

However, Romano says that won't happen on X, while on YouTube he reports that Tottenham considered signing him in the last hours of the Premier League window.

What did Romano say?

"I’m not aware of any moves. Bayern tried for Ademola Lookman – a loan deal with a buy-option for €28m," Romano said on his YouTube channel.

"They didn’t even get a reply. It was impossible for them to consider that bid. Atalanta already had big money on the table from Inter at the end of July. They offered €42m plus €3m in bonuses and Atalanta said no.

"In the industry, the feeling was that €50m might have made him available. The best offer was from Inter.

"Lookman was an option for Tottenham before going all in for Randal Kolo-Muani, although they are totally different players.

"Unless something crazy happens in one of the markets that are still open, Lookman remains at Atalanta."

The Nigerian star, who has now been included in Atalanta's Champions League squad, infamously went AWOL for two weeks after being infuriated by his club's decision to refuse to sell him to Inter Milan.

Lookman fled Italy back to England to train on his own, deleted all traces of Atalanta from his social media accounts, delivered an angry public statement and issued a transfer request.

But after news emerged that Inter had communicated to Atalanta that they no longer want to sign Lookman, the attacker decided to end his strike and return to Italy.

He has since been training seperately from the rest of the squad but he has not been called up or played this season.

Lookman had his heart set on a move to Inter but Atalanta rejected an offer of €42 million plus €3m in add-ons.

The attacker claimed that Atalanta had broken a promise to sell him after the offer was rejected.

Atalanta CEO Luca Percassi then explained that they had promised to sell Lookman this summer to a big club abroad at the right price but not to an Italian club.

Earlier this year, Lookman was crowned African Footballer of the Year and finished 14th in the 2024 Ballon d'Or race after a stunning 2024.

He scored a legendary hattrick for Atalanta in the 3-0 Europa League final victory over Bayer Leverkusen in May 2024.

He hit 27 goal contributions for the season before taking that brilliant form into the 2024/2025 season.

In the first half of last season he was arguably the best player in Serie A, as Atalanta looked a good bet for the Scudetto.

However, together with Atalanta as a whole, Lookman's form dropped off in 2025 but he remains one of the best players in Serie A.

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