Man Utd 'dream' transfer denied as Serie A star completes £22m move instead
Manchester United represent the pinnacle for a number of stars despite their recent troubles - and that is no different for Serie A star Nikola Krstovic. The former Lecce star recently admitted his admiration for the Red Devils earlier this year.
He said: 'After the match against Torino he (Mirko Vucinic) told me 'think about the next one'. Where would I never play? In Bari. My dream is Manchester United.
'It's only the second year here in Lecce. I am very happy, both me and my family. We have friends and we're enjoying it, so let's think about the present.'
Despite earmarking a move to Old Trafford, the Montenegrin forward will now have to put his dream on hold having sealed a switch to Italian rivals Atalanta. The Serie A side have paid £22m for his services, while Krstovic has put pen to paper on his switch.
Atalanta were previously linked with a move for Fulham 's Rodrigo Muniz but appear to have lost patience in talks and have opted for an alternative. Krstovic's arrival comes amid a tense situation regarding current star Ademola Lookman.
After scoring 52 goals for the Italian side over the last three seasons and helping them to win the Europa League in 2024, he has attempted to engineer a move away amid interest from Inter Milan.
Lookman recently took to Instagram with an explosive statement confirming he had lodged a transfer request. He wrote: 'There have been numerous clubs approach Atalanta in the past and I have previously always stayed loyal.
"However, myself and the ownership of the club have been in agreement that now is the right time and the club were clear with me that if a fair 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.
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"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."
Atalanta CEO Luca Percassi recently opened up on the situation and claimed that the club would be happy to sell - but only for their price and not to a direct rival. He said: 'It's a good opportunity to clarify what happened. 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.'
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