Roma has closed the door on the midfielder: now Inter can focus its efforts (and budget) on the Atalanta striker. And the Genoa midfielder could be Marotta’s plan B

That bond has never been broken. Or at least not definitively. Just like that relationship and, above all, that desire to one day find themselves fighting for the same goals and colors, which has never completely faded. Although in recent days Inter’s big transfer coup seemed to be Manu Koné, the name of Ademola Lookman is still on the Nerazzurri management’s mind. Now, following the Friedkins’ rejection within 24 hours, when the Koné-Inter deal seemed done, he is back in the spotlight. This is because the Atalanta striker has never left Marotta and Ausilio’s radar and, above all, because Inter, having missed out on Koné, has effectively regained the €40-50 million it intends to invest in a big signing to change the face of a team under construction and give Chivu a trump card, a player capable of creating, with different characteristics from the other strikers in the squad. And who better than Lookman fits that profile?

The situation—  The tug-of-war with Atalanta over the Nigerian’s valuation is still ongoing. This indirectly confirms that Inter have never really abandoned the Lookman trail and could soon return to the fray, perhaps trying to soften the Percassi family—who remain firm in their position—with an extra effort. When the Koné opportunity arose, Inter’s dream was to bring both the Roma midfielder and Lookman to Milan, hoping to add another twenty million (from the sale of Pavard?) to the war chest already available for just one of the two, in order to secure both players. The Friedkins’ U-turn has, in a sense, narrowed the field. Lookman is definitely still on the table, but there could soon be a move for Frendrup as well. He is a ball-winning midfielder who is similar to Koné in terms of his characteristics and whose muscle and stamina would allow Chivu to make a definitive transition to 3-4-2-1.