Reports from Italy have linked Liverpool with a rather surprising transfer target in the form of an ex-Everton player.
According to Calciomercato, the Reds are joined by Chelsea and Manchester United in showing an interest in Ademola Lookman, who memorably scored all three of Atalanta’s goals in their Europa League final win over Bayer Leverkusen last month.
The Nerazzurri value the 26-year-old at €60m (£50m) and are determined to hold onto him, especially if other key playing assets are sold, although an offer in excess of that amount might be enough to turn the head of club president Antonio Percassi.
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Having never truly got going at Goodison Park, it still seems astonishing that Lookman became the first player to score a hat-trick in a one-off European final since 1969 with that treble for Atalanta in Dublin five weeks ago (The Guardian).
It was no freakish outlier for him either, having netted 17 times in total and set up a further 10 goals across 45 matches last season (Transfermarkt).
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As per FBref, the Nigeria international ranks highly among a series of key performance metrics when compared to other forwards in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year, most notably shot-creating actions (top 2%), progressive carries (top 3%) and successful take-ons (top 6%).
Lookman’s stock has never been higher, and Atalanta realise that now is the time when they’d reap maximum value for the 26-year-old, but it’s still hard to envisage Liverpool swooping for him this summer.
The Europa League winners have a reputation for being especially tough to negotiate with in the transfer market, and it’s a given that they won’t sell the former Evertonian without extracting a mammoth (and likely excessive) fee for him.
It’s nonetheless an intriguing link to have emerged from Italy – let’s see if it gathers momentum over the coming weeks.
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