'People gave him bad advice' – Juric welcomes Lookman back after failed Inter move
Atalanta welcomed wantaway forward Ademola Lookman back into their ranks on Sunday as they maintained their unbeaten start in Serie A.
Atalanta boss Ivan Juric is glad to have Ademola Lookman back following his failed move to Inter, saying the Nigeria forward was poorly advised during the transfer window.
Lookman missed La Dea's first three games of the Serie A campaign and trained away from the first team as he attempted to force a move to the Nerazzurri.
But Atalanta refused to allow Lookman to join a domestic rival, and the 27-year-old – who scored a hat-trick in their Europa League final victory in 2023-24 – came off the bench in the 87th minute of Sunday's 3-0 win at Torino.
Nikola Krstovic scored twice and Kamaldeen Sulemana was also on target as Atalanta streaked clear in the first half, and Marco Carnesecchi saved a Duvan Zapata penalty to preserve their clean sheet in the second half.
Speaking after full-time, Juric said Lookman was willing to be reintegrated into the squad.
"He spoke to me and the team on Monday. He was surrounded by people who had given him some bad advice," Juric said.
"He has a great winning mentality and now we need to get him back in shape physically."
Atalanta were thrashed 4-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League opener in midweek, but Juric believes that result provided them with extra motivation on Sunday.
He said: "That game actually gave us strength, because we were up against the best team in Europe. We rather took our foot off the gas and controlled the match today."
Juric led Torino for three seasons between 2021 and 2024, prior to his spells with Roma and Southampton.
Sunday's game was marred by protests from the home supporters against the leadership of club president Urbano Cairo, and Juric said it was a difficult situation to experience.
"The situation has deteriorated a lot since I was here," he said. "It's sad to see such discontent in the stands, it is not good for anyone here."
Atalanta are fifth in Serie A with two wins and two draws from four matches this season, with Torino four points back in 12th.
