Super Eagles and Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman has been reinstated into La Dea’s first team training but will not feature in their upcoming Serie A clash against Lecce. The 27-year-old's exclusion stems from a prolonged summer transfer saga that has strained his relationship with the club and its head coach, Ivan Juric.

The root of the conflict traces back to Lookman's desire to depart the Bergamo-based club before the transfer window closed. He reportedly absconded from team training and pre-season fixtures in a bid to force a move, which ultimately did not materialize. Atalanta maintained a firm stance against selling Lookman to another Italian team, and with only Inter Milan making a concrete bid, the club held onto their player. Following his participation with the Nigerian National team during the September International break, Lookman was recalled from individual training to rejoin the first team for the first time this season.

However, despite his return to group training, Lookman's commitment has been publicly questioned by Head Coach Ivan Juric. In his pre-match conference, Juric expressed his disappointment, stating that the desire to play for the club is still lacking in Lookman. “This is an unpleasant, difficult situation,” Juric said. “As a coach, what I feel is that we need other things: of spirit, of struggle, of humility, of work, of feeling the shirt well. On a human level, I want something else; I want a different membership, and we will go on like this. I don't have to beg him.”

Juric reiterated Atalanta's values, emphasizing that the club represents hard work, humility, and dedication to the city. “With Lookman, I have a very good relationship, but I don’t have to beg him to play. On the contrary, we are Atalanta, and we represent the city. We need what Atalanta represents: work, humility, they are different values, I do not have to pray to anyone. We are all convinced that Atalanta needs strong values on a human level,” the Croatian concluded. His remarks make it clear that the issue transcends physical readiness, focusing instead on the player's attitude and sense of responsibility.

Lookman has yet to feature competitively this season and missed all pre-season friendlies, leaving him far behind his teammates in terms of preparation. His absence has coincided with a challenging period for Atalanta, who have struggled to secure a victory this season following the departure of Mario Retegui to Al Qadisiya. For now, Lookman's path back into the squad is less about his ability or fitness and more about his willingness to fully embrace the non-negotiable values insisted upon by Coach Juric and the club.