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Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Former Premier League star 'clears possessions and misses second day of training' in bid to force a move - after accusing his club of 'broken promises'
Ademola Lookman has reportedly cleared his possessions out of Atalanta's training ground as he bids to force a move to Serie A rivals Inter Milan. Lookman has been a key player for Atalanta since joining in 2022, with the forward reaching double figures for goals in the league in each of his three seasons at the club. The Nigerian international is best remembered for hisstarring role in the 2024 Europa League final, with his hat-trick against BayerLeverkusen helping the club win the trophy for the first time. Lookman confirmed in a statement this week that he hashanded in a transfer request, alleging he has been the victim of 'poortreatment' by the club, while accusing them of 'months of broken promises'. 'There have been numerous clubs approach Atalanta in thepast and I have previously always stayed loyal,' Lookman said. 'However, myself and the ownership of the club have been inagreement that now is the right time and the club were clear with me that if afair offer came in they would allow me to move. 'Despite now receiving an offer in alignment to what I believe had been discussed sadly the club are blocking the opportunity for reasons I do not understand. 'As a result and after many months of broken promises and what I feel has been poor treatment towards me as both a human being and as a professional footballer, sadly I feel I have no choice but to speak out for what I believe is right and I feel that enough is enough. I can confirm I have now handed in a formal transfer request.' According to Sky Sport, Lookman on Tuesday failed to attend training for the second consecutive day, despite being scheduled to undergo an individual session to help his recovery from an injury. Lookman's attempts to force a move come after Atalanta rejected a £39million offer from Inter Milan. Atalanta chief executive Luca Percassi confirmed that Lookman will be allowed to leave this summer, but stressed he would not be able to join a Serie A rival. 'It's a good opportunity to clarify what happened,' Percassi said at a press conference. Last year, after a 20 million offer from PSG, the player had asked us to be sold. 'Atalanta, being a credible club, had promised to sell the player this window based on two conditions that he himself had asked of us: First, to go to a super, top European club, and that he would never be seen in Italy wearing a shirt other than Atalanta's, given what he did for the club and what he received from the club. 'Today, as you know, the situation is very different. The club is always careful when evaluating the value and timing of its players, but as always, it is Atalanta, the club, that decides.' Reports in Italy suggested Lookman and Atalanta could take legal action over the dispute. Lookman, who is contracted until 2027, could reportedly be fined by the club if he fails to attend training for the third consecutive day. In total, Lookman has scored 52 goals in 118 appearances for Atalanta, including netting 20 times in 40 matches last season. Atalanta finished third last season, behind champions Napoli and Inter Milan, to secure Champions League qualification.
Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Emma Raducanu hiring her EIGHTH coach since her US Open triumph might seem like another rash move, writes MATTHEW LAMBWELL - but linking up with Rafael Nadal's mentor is a sign of maturity for the British No1
Much of the social media reaction to Emma Raducanu 's appointment of a new coach was comparable to Brenda from Bristol 's viral reaction to the snap election in 2017: 'You're joking. Not another one!' Yes, Francisco Roig (known as Francis) is the eighth coach of Raducanu's four-year career but this is far from the kind of chopping-and-changing which characterised the year or so after her US Open victory. The 22-year-old has shown great maturity in stepping away from the alliance with Mark Petchey which has stood her in such good stead since Miami. The problem was that, for Petchey, this was a part-time job. He is a pundit and commentator for the Tennis Channel and TNT Sport in America and so was fitting Raducanu in around those commitments. He was absent from several of her matches and at the French Open he was on the practice court with Raducanu wearing slacks and a crisp blue shirt so he could dash straight to the booth. It all felt haphazard and a little amateurish. There is nothing amateurish about Roig. One does not survive in the inner sanctum of Rafael Nadal for 18 years without a ferocious dedication to the craft of tennis. And this is a man who former world No12 Feliciano Lopez describes as 'technically, the best coach in the world'. So in many ways this feels like a no-brainer appointment but it will not have been easy for Raducanu to move on from Petchey – a successful and, for her, hugely enjoyable partnership - and she deserves great credit for doing so. The appointment of Roig is also a move away from the Raducanu formula of only working with those who knew her before her 2021 US Open triumph. It was in the Roman sunshine in May when I sat with Raducanu and one other journalist and listened to her open up about trust issues; how she had been 'burned' in both personal and professional relationships since she went from schoolgirl to world famous athlete. It does not feel like too much of a leap to suggest a couple of those burnings came at the hands of coaches. There was Dmitry Tursunov who talked of 'red flags' after they stopped working together in 2022, and Vlado Platenik, who the day after a trial with Raducanu was announced this March gave a long interview to an eastern European website in which he talked of rejecting the job in the past because it was 'career suicide'. It is easy to see how Raducanu felt people were trading on her name to raise their own profiles; enjoying a loudhaller amplifying their usually obscure voices. Roig was happy to maintain a low profile while on the team of the most famous athlete in his country's history so he is hardly likely to develop an urge for celebrity at the age of 57. Still, it is a leap of faith for Raducanu to go outside her trusted circle. From Nick Cavaday, who stepped down in January for health reasons, to Jane O'Donoghue to Petchey, her box over the last two years has been like friends reunited. But this, too, was not a sustainable strategy; the well of former mentors was not bottomless and here she has stepped out of her comfort zone. Kudos to Petchey too. He clearly relished the opportunity to prove his coaching credentials, the role gave him valuable cachet as a TV pundit and raised his profile back home, when the vast majority of his work these days is across the Atlantic. It would have been easy for him to cling to the Raducanu coat tails for as long as possible but he said after Wimbledon his only motivation was to act in the best interests of his friend, and in stepping aside for a full-time coach he has been true to his word. One thing Petchey did above all else was bring back the Raducanu smile, after a grim first few months of this year including the stalker ordeal. There is little doubt Roig can improve her serve but can he maintain her smile? He is used to working with a man who dedicated his entire soul to the singular pursuit of tennis greatness. Raducanu will never be like this; she is a renaissance woman with interests ranging from art to literature to food. Like her US Open mixed doubles partner Carlos Alcaraz, she believes her best tennis comes when she is relaxed and joyful on the court, and that this state can only be achieved with the right balance of relaxation and distraction off the court. This is not to say Raducanu is not a hard worker - not one of her seven coaches has ever questioned her work ethic - but she is more aware than most of her peers of the world outside the 2,106 square feet of a tennis court. If Roig can accept that, and Raducanu can learn to trust an outsider, then they could be on to something.
BBC News
28 minutes ago
- BBC News
Forest confirm new front-of-shirt sponsor
Nottingham Forest have announced Bally's Corporation, an American gambling, betting and interactive entertainment company, as the new front-of-shirt sponsor for the 2025-26 comes despite Premier League clubs collectively agreeing in 2023 to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of their matchday shirts by the end of the 2025-26 have been allowed to secure new shirt-front deals before the deadline and will still be able to continue featuring gambling brands in areas such as shirt sleeves and LED advertising owner Evangelos Marinakis said: "We are on a special journey - we are determined to keep achieving incredible things and strengthening our global partnerships is an important part of this."As our club continues to thrive both on and off the pitch, we're looking forward to working with Bally's on a number of exciting initiatives, helping us to engage with our growing fanbase within Nottinghamshire and around the world."Home shirts with the new sponsor will be worn for the first time in Tuesday's friendly against Serie A side Fiorentina at the City the 2024-25 campaign, 11 top-flight teams had a gambling sponsor on the front of their shirts, an increase of three from the previous ban from next season follows a consultation between the league, its clubs and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as part of the government's ongoing review of current gambling legislation.
