Exclusive: Tottenham Hotspur Will Attempt Raid For Unsettled Atalanta Striker Ademola Lookman When January Transfer Window Opens

Tottenham Hotspur will hope to make it second time lucky when they try to buy Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman for £20million when the January transfer window opens, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.

Our sources understand Spurs boss Thomas Frank is a big admirer of the player and is keen to see if he can a deal across the line for the highly-rated Nigeria international.

Spurs missed out on signing Lookman, capped 29 times by his country, on transfer deadline day.

And although the North London club expect to face stiff competition from Italian giants Inter Milan and Bayern Munich, Frank is quietly confident he can get his target.

Atalanta turned down a proposed loan move from the German Bundesliga outfit for the 27-year-old marksman on transfer deadline day earlier this month.

That deal was understood to contain a decent fee for his services and an option to buy at the end of the loan.

But Atalanta wouldn’t let Lookman leave, with club understandably keen to keep hold of a player who has bagged 52 goals in 117 games for the club in the Italian Serie A over the past three seasons.

However, despite his success, Lookman is believed to want to leave the club after three years and is ready to take the next step in his blossoming career.

PREMIER LEAGUE EXPERIENCE

Lookman has previous Premier League experience having enjoyed loan spells with both Fulham and Leicester City.

He scored four goals in 34 games for the Cottagers during the 2020-21 season and six in 26 league outings in the top-flight for the Foxes the following campaign.

Lookman’s first taste of Premier League action was with Everton, who he joined from Charlton Athletic back in 2016.

He played 36 games for the Toffees across three seasons before four loan moves over the next five years.

Lookman joined Atalanta in August 2022 on a four-year deal worth £12million, but with less than a year remaining on his contract, Spurs hope they can entice the Italian side to sell.

Last season he impressed with 20 goals and seven assists in 40 games for the club, but he drew criticism from Atlanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini for mixing a penalty as his side crashed out of the Champions League.