Juric admits Lookman ‘not in the best condition, but he’s available from tomorrow’ – Football Italia

Atalanta head coach Ivan Juric has admitted that Ademola Lookman is not currently in his best physical condition, but has confirmed that he will be available for selection for tomorrow’s Serie A match away against Torino. 

Lookman has not played for Atalanta at all since the end of the 2024-25 season. He saw a €45m bid from Inter rejected during the summer transfer window, which led to his handing in a formal transfer request as a result. 

Lookman went on to launch a series of accusations against the club, and then returned to the UK to train on his own while holding out for a move away from Bergamo. In the end, that transfer did not materialise, and he later decided to return to Atalanta, just five days before the start of the Serie A season. 

Now, four matches into the season, and with fitness concerns surrounding fellow forwards Charles De Ketelaere and Gianluca Scamacca, Lookman could be brought back into the fray for Torino vs. Atalanta on Sunday. 

What Juric said about Lookman call-up and Torino return

“He’s spoken with me, the team and my staff. He was well received and from tomorrow, he will begin to be available to us,” Juric confirmed during his pre-match press conference on Saturday. 

“He’s not in the best condition given that he’s been training alone up until now. He did very well in training (on Friday),” Juric added.

And on the condition of De Ketelaere, who was forced off during Atalanta’s 4-0 loss to PSG in the Champions League earlier this week, Juric said: “We’ll also have to evaluate his condition given the problems he had against PSG.” 

Juric will be taking his Atalanta side to one of his former clubs in Torino on Sunday: “I think I had some good years in Turin,” Juric said of his experiences with the Granata. 

“We got the club’s accounts back in order and finished in the top half after a number of difficult years. Now, Toro is a more solid team and has a lot more options than before.

“They have great players who can trouble you. They will want to press a little more at home, but they played a very good game against Roma.”