Pedulla Expects ‘Large Fine' From Atalanta For Lookman's Antics In Inter Milan Transfer Saga
The SportItalia transfer market expert gave his thoughts on the ongoing soap opera in a video on his YouTube channel.
The transfer soap opera between Inter, Atalanta, and Ademola Lookman has dominated the headlines over the last week.
The Nigerian international very publicly demanded a transfer to Atalanta last weekend. This after Atalanta had rejected a second offer from the Nerazzurri.
Then, Lookman took things a step further. The 27-year-old – who had already scrubbed all traces of Atalanta from his social media accounts – began no-showing training.
There's no indication that Lookman plans to return to training for Atalanta.
The player is determine to force through the move to Inter, as he believes that La Dea had promised as much last summer.
Pedulla: 'Atalanta Will Give Ademola Lookman A Large Fine' Over Inter Antics
MILAN, ITALY – APRIL 20: Ademola Lookman of Atalanta BC looks on during the Serie A match between AC Milan and Atalanta BC at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on April 20, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by)
SportItalia transfer market expert Alfredo Pedulla explained that 'Lookman is nowhere to be found.'
'Inter haven't raised their offer yet,' he continued.
'But that's their strategy.'
Pedulla also noted that Inter are 'not considering any other options.'
'The player will receive a large fine,' the SportItalia transfer expert then added. 'And he's currently not in Italy.'
Pedulla then noted that 'this behavious is unacceptable.
'Atalanta are searching for a replacement. They are particularly interested in Crystal Palace's Mateta.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Times
23 minutes ago
- New York Times
Palermo 0 Manchester City 3: Reijnders' double, Cherki's promise and Haaland scores with his right foot
Summer signings Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki caught the eye in Manchester City's only pre-season match before the start of the 2025-26 campaign: a convincing 3-0 win over Serie B side Palermo Despite Palermo's bright start at the Renzo Barbera Stadium, City controlled proceedings in the opening 25 minutes before Erling Haaland opened the scoring with a rare right-footed finish from a Rico Lewis pass. Advertisement Pep Guardiola made 10 changes at the break and while City looked less assured than they did in the first half, Reijnders scored twice, with Savinho and youngster Divine Mukasa grabbing assists. Anantaajith Raghuraman breaks down the key talking points from the Anglo Palermitan Trophy. The dominant narrative heading into this match was Guardiola revealing that Rodri might not be fully fit until after the September international break. The 29-year-old, who returned only at the end of last season after nearly eight months out with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear, picked up a groin injury in their 4-3 Club World Cup defeat to Al Hilal last month. Without Rodri, City struggled to defend transitions last season while their ball progression suffered. They had no direct replacement for the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner, with Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, and January signing Nico Gonzalez deputising for him without much success. In the first half against Palermo, Nico and Nico O'Reilly started as the nominal holding midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation. No 10 Cherki often dropped back alongside the duo to receive the ball from James Trafford and move City through the thirds. As City moved forward, full-backs Lewis and Rayan Ait-Nouri were comfortable wandering into midfield to provide options, as was John Stones, who could be crucial in the early weeks without Rodri. Defensively, City looked comfortable, with Palermo causing them minimal issues. In the second half, Reijnders, Bernardo and Gundogan replaced Cherki, Nico and O'Reilly. While not a by-product of those substitutions, it was telling that Palermo created two opportunities on the break in the opening two minutes. Later in the half, City's troubles in progressing play through the middle were evident through cheap giveaways in their own defensive third. Advertisement Eventually, they began targeting the runs made by Reijnders and lobbing passes into Savinho and Jeremy Doku rather than passing their way through the middle. City looked more secure and created more opportunities this way. Drawing too many conclusions from a pre-season friendly against a Palermo side that finished eighth in the Italian second tier last season would be premature. Yet the differences between the two halves were telling and Guardiola has a selection headache ahead of their Premier League opener at Wolves in six days. In addition to his contribution to filling the giant Rodri-shaped hole in City's build-up, Cherki enjoyed a fantastic first half further up the pitch too. The 21-year-old made himself available to take over possession in all three thirds, stringing together some excellent one-touch pass-and-move sequences with O'Reilly and Lewis. One of those moves was crucial in the build-up to Haaland's opener. Cherki played one audacious outside-of-the-boot pass towards Omar Marmoush from the right wing that just evaded the Egyptian and popped up with a couple of deft backheel flicks near the box. At one point, he formed a triangle with Marmoush and Haaland in City's defensive third to evade Palermo's pressure and create a transition-like opportunity that nearly ended with Haaland feeding Marmoush through on goal. His final important contribution was to position himself perfectly to meet an Oscar Bobb cutback but his goalbound effort was deflected behind for a corner at the last second. Cherki's willingness to get on the ball was encouraging and the final product he delivered was promising too. Doku and Savinho offered plenty of runs in behind across the 2024-25 season, but Reijnders' sprints forward from midfield added an extra element to City's attacking play at the Club World Cup. In the second half against Palermo, with City struggling to pass through their opponents, the Netherlands international's movement proved useful again. Manuel Akanji looked for his run right through the heart of the defence, even overtaking Haaland, less than 10 minutes into the second half. But Reijnders' 15-goal return for Milan last season was also a by-product of his well-timed runs into the box to meet cutbacks and crosses, which fits perfectly into this current City system. What City often missed in these situations was clinical finishing and Reijnders provided it twice against Palermo. 'We knew that he is a special player arriving into the box,' Guardiola explained after the game. 'He loves to do that. People in Italy know him perfectly (after his time at AC Milan).' Advertisement The first in the 58th minute saw him meet a Savinho lay-off and shoot into the far corner across goalkeeper Alfred Gomis. Fifteen minutes later, Reijnders ran in behind, perfectly controlled a through ball, took one more touch to settle himself, and then stung Gomis' palms from a narrow angle. His second goal in the 82nd minute was immaculate in its construction. City targeted a run in behind from Matheus Nunes, with Savinho picking the ball up and finding Mukasa on the edge of the box. The 17-year-old's delicate backheel fell right into the path of the onrushing Reijnders, who glided past a defender before slotting home. He nearly scored a third too with another run in behind. Two neat touches to get past a recovering defender and Gomis followed, but he seemed to trip himself, pushing the ball across the box, and his shot from a narrow angle was blocked on the line. 'He can play as a holding midfielder but he loves to arrive to the box to help our strikers, like Erling and Omar and anyone who plays there. We are really pleased,' Guardiola added. That versatility, along with his performance, may just be enough for Reijnders to start against Wolves. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle


New York Times
23 minutes ago
- New York Times
Inside the world of Premier League referees: New rules, fitness testing and coping with pressure
'We don't want to celebritise referees, but we want to humanise them,' says Howard Webb, chief refereeing officer for Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), while sitting pitchside in Spain at a pre-season training camp for England's elite officials. 'One of our key performance characteristics is around physical ability and being able to comfortably meet the evolving physical demands of the game.' Advertisement As part of a special podcast episode — Inside the World of Premier League Referees — The Athletic goes behind the scenes to find out how officials prepare and operate during a season under the spotlight. 'It's undoubtedly more scrutinised than ever,' says Webb, who is concerned over the rise in 'questioning of the motivations around decisions' rather than them simply being 'human' and 'made in the moment by somebody who wants to do a really good job'. He says: 'People will form an opinion that there's something else behind that decision. There isn't.' The use and implementation of VAR remains a hot topic. 'It's almost like a bellwether for how successfully we're delivering our officiating,' says Webb after a season of 'progress' in 2024-25. The former Premier League and World Cup final referee points to a reduction in VAR errors from 31 (2023-24) to 18 during the last campaign and an overall accuracy of decisions of 97.5 per cent according to the Key Match Incidents panel, an independent body that monitors officials' performances. Webb does accept there is room for improvement: 'Each of those errors can be hugely impactful, of course, so we're always focusing on bringing it down as much as we possibly can.' After trials in cup competitions, VAR announcements from referees to the crowd are set to extend to the Premier League in the new season. At the seven-day camp near Alicante, they practised calls at a training-pitch VAR station. Referee Peter Bankes admits 'it's something we've probably been a little apprehensive about because this wasn't in the script' but believes 'we'll be as ready as we possibly can be to nail that at the start of the season'. PGMOL has appointed former Dutch referee Kevin Blom to the role of VAR performance coach to help raise standards, including overseeing the VAR enhanced training programme, which started in 2024. Advertisement Matt Donohue is an EFL referee promoted to Premier League VAR duties via the pathway. 'Until you've sat in that chair for the first time and experienced what it's like to have an intervention which has had an impact on a Premier League game of football, you don't fully understand that adrenaline rush,' he says. The feature podcast also discusses new laws — and innovations like ref cams and semi-automated offside technology — including the new eight-second rule for goalkeepers to avoid time wasting. 'That's something I've certainly thought was needed over the past few years because it's very difficult penalising a goalkeeper,' says Bankes, who will count down the last five seconds of eight holding his hand aloft: 'I just want to make sure that the two is the right way round and not the wrong way around.' Andy Madley says referees have experimented with different techniques to help fans watching from a distance at big stadiums: 'We're even looking at the technical aspects: is it worth giving a little wave of the hand each time we count down the seconds?' Madley also speaks openly about the mental strain on referees. 'There are times I've made decisions on the Saturday, and I've had to question whether I'm in the right state of mind to go and referee the following Saturday, seven days later,' he says. Last season, referee David Coote was sacked by PGMOL after two videos emerged via The Sun newspaper. In the first, he could be seen criticising former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, in the second The Sun claimed Coote could be seen sniffing white powder through a rolled-up bank note. In the aftermath, he came out as gay and said he'd hidden his sexuality to avoid abuse from fans. Webb says mental health support for referees — they have their own dedicated coaches and psychologists — is a priority. 'Some of the questions we're asking are about their personal life to make sure this is not just something we expect them to cope with… this stiff upper lip,' he explains. 'Reaching out for help is not a sign of weakness, it's not going to affect your appointments and we really have a focus on that.' Advertisement Mental health support is coupled with elite-level physical preparation and deep analysis of performance data throughout pre-season and beyond. 'As soon as they've finished a session, be it in Carlisle or if they're away in Kazakhstan for a game, they can sync it and we can see it,' says PGMOL senior sports scientist Francis Bunce, who oversees maximum velocity and maximal aerobic speed (MAS) tests. The latter is to see 'who is willing to put themselves in a dark place', says Matt Willmott, PGMOL lead physical coach. Premier League assistant referee Akil Howson's view: 'MAS? We call it hell.' It serves the purpose of allowing him and his colleagues to keep pace with Premier League players like Newcastle United's Anthony Elanga, who can reach up to 37 kilometres per hour. 'We're working at 32, 33kph at our top speed so we're there or thereabouts,' says Howson. James Wilson, part of an officiating team The Athletic shadows at a game, speaks about a variety of topics, including seeing offside decisions like a 'beachball'. Plus unwanted attention from fans: 'I've been called absolutely everything.' Fourth official John Busby outlines an incident when 'a fan was waiting for me in the car park', while referee James Linington concludes: 'It's not right that we should be thick-skinned, but it's part of our culture, unfortunately.' Caffeine gum, pre-match superstitions and carefully curated smoothies are also part of a referee's world. 'There's a lot of research that will show the fitter we are and better condition we have, the more cognitive improvements we see,' says senior sports scientist and lead nutritionist Vicky Smith. 'They're going to be able to make freer decisions with more energy available for the brain, rather than having to recover.' Listen to Inside the World of Premier League Referees — a special episode of The Athletic FC podcast — here (Top photos: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Cardinals QB Kyler Murray explains interception against Chiefs in preseason opener
The Arizona Cardinals opened their preseason schedule on Saturday with a 20-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium. They rallied back from a 14-3 second-quarter deficit. The starting offense played just over a quarter, playing two possessions and scoring three points. Quarterback Kyler Murray both looked good in his limited time on the field, but he also threw a critical interception in the red zone of the Cardinals' first possession. Murray explained what happened after the game. Essentially, he underthrew the ball. 'I just didn't get enough on it," he said postgame. "That's something that in practice, I'm never really rolling out full speed as if somebody's actually going to tackle me. It's kind of weird to explain. I've just got to get more on it. I'm glad it happened though, because I would hate for that to be New Orleans, and it means something.' Chiefs safety Jaden Hicks also baited the throw. Hicks made it look like he was coming back down to cover Trey McBride, who was closer to the line of scrimmage and at the sideline, leading Murray to believe that he could just drop the throw in over the top to get to Marvin Harrison Jr. Murray, who hadn't played in the preseason since 2021, was happy to get full-speed reps and have to make throws against players who are allowed to hit and tackle him. Even in full-speed practices, it isn't the same for Murray, as defenders are not allowed to hit the quarterback or tackle players to the ground. "That's something that you can't replicate in practice, moving around at the speed that you're moving at, going left to right lateral, having guys move and bodies moving," he said. We don't know yet whether or not Murray will get anymore preseason action. Starters traditionally do not play in the final game, and the Cardinals will have a joint practice this coming week ahead of their preseason game against the Denver Broncos. The last two years, following joint practices, the Cardinals' starters have not played. While no one wants to see Murray turn the ball over, the offense ran well. He completed all his other passes, getting the ball to five different pass catchers. They moved the ball. They just didn't finish their drives. If that is all Murray does in the preseason, it should give some good momentum toward the regular season. Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts. This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Kyler Murray explains interception vs. Chiefs