Coach of Italian Serie A side Atalanta Ivan Juric says Nigeria international striker Ademola Lookman listened to bad advice following his decision to go on strike in his bid to force a move out of the club during the summer transfer window.
Lookman handed in a transfer request and went on strike for over three weeks trying to push a move to Inter Milan, who were unwilling to meet the asking price of €50m slammed on him by Atalanta.
He released a statement voicing his unhappiness about the club’s demand, citing a promise made to him that he will be allowed to leave for €40m but Atalanta argued that it was only for teams outside Europe.
After starring for Nigeria in back to back world cup qualifiers games during the international break, he returned back to Napoli where he held clear the air talks with his manager, and was subsequently handed a return back to the team.
Speaking after the 3-0 win over Torino in the Serie A with Lookman playing the final three minutes of the game for his return to the team, Juric said the striker was surrounded by people who gave him bad advice.
“He spoke to me and the team on Monday, he was surrounded by people who had given him some bad advice. He has a great winning mentality and now we need to get him back in shape physically,” Juric said.
