Fenerbahce president Sadettin Saran has revealed that the club’s attempt to sign Ademola Lookman from Atalanta collapsed after they were unable to provide guarantees regarding the proposed payment structure for the deal.
The Turkish giants were very close to a move for the 2024 CAF Men’s Player of the year award during the winter transfer window, but eventually missed out to Spanish side Atletico Madrid.
Fenerbahce had agreed the transfer fee with Atalanta and also agreed personal terms with Lookman, but the deal did not materialize after they failed to provide assurances over the payment structure.
Despite offering higher wages, they missed out to Atletico Madrid, who agreed a €40 million total package and a net salary of around €6 million per season.
Lookman has been in fine form since moving to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano during the transfer window, netting four goals and providing two assists across all competitions, including a goal on his debut during the 5-0 win over Real Betis last month.
What the Fenerbahce president said about failed move to sign Lookman
Speaking during an interview, Saran revealed that the club were unable to complete a deal for the Super Eagles winger after not reaching an agreement with Atalanta.
“On December 19th, as soon as my foreign ban was lifted, I went to Milan for Lookman and met his manager”, Saran said.
“Everything went very well. Then we spoke with Atalanta officials and things were positive, but later they asked for a letter of guarantee because they said Turkish clubs sometimes struggle with payments.
“We told them we owe no one and that we would pay everything. Lookman spoke with our coach two or three times and he wanted to come
Atalanta came again asking for the guarantee. They didn’t want to give the transfer to us — they preferred Atlético Madrid. That’s how the process ended,” Saran concluded.
Lookman will be eyeing another impressive performance when Atletico face Getafe in the Spanish La Liga on Saturday.
