Gasperini in talks over Atalanta extension despite Champions League warning – Football Italia

Atalanta head coach Gian Piero Gasperini is meeting with the club’s senior management on Tuesday to discuss his future in Bergamo, despite his recent warning that qualification for the Champions League ‘will be complicated’.

Gasperini is still under contract with Atalanta until the summer of 2026, but has dropped several hints over the 2024-25 season that his time with La Dea could be coming to an end. 

“At the end of the season, we’ll see whether to let the contract run out or stop earlier,” Gasperini said in February, while CEO Luca Percassi added that the club will ‘respect his decision’ either way. 

Despite previous hints of a possible Atalanta farewell, and links with a move to take over from Cladio Ranieri as head coach of Roma, Gasperini is discussing his future with Percassi, along with co-chair Stephan Pagliuca and sporting director Tony D’Amico on Tuesday. 

Gasperini in decisive meeting over Atalanta future

Reports from Calciomercato.com claim that the Atalanta management have offered Gasperini the chance to extend his contract for a further 12 months until the summer of 2027, which would give him two years of contract from the start of the 2025-26 season. 

Tuesday’s reports claim that the Atalanta executives will need to provide Gasperini with certain guarantees, particularly on the transfer market, if they are to convince him to stay and extend his contract. 

Gasperini has recently warned that: “For the first time in nine years, I feel that it will be very difficult to repeat ourselves.

“A result that might seem normal, like qualifying for the Champions League, will be complicated. And this is something we need to discuss,” the head coach warned. 

Calciomercato claims that Gasperini is aware of the fact that Atalanta may have to let go of some of their key players during the summer transfer window, including Brazil international Ederson, the reigning African Player of the Year Ademola Lookman and even potentially 2024-25 Capocannoniere Mateo Retegui. 

There are also concerns about the defensive department for next season given the long-term absences of Giorgio Scalvini and Sead Kolasinac, the farewell to Rafael Toloi and the possibility that the buy options in loan deals for Odilon Kossounou and Stefan Posch are not activated.