Serie A side Atalanta are undergoing major upheaval this summer. First, they appointed Ivan Juric to replace Gian Piero Gasperini, who took the AS Roma head coaching job. Second, they’ve acquired and released several players during the summer transfer window. La Dea finished third in the Italian top-flight standings last term, but don’t be surprised if they go a few places down, according to the early Serie A 2025 odds.
Elsewhere, Napoli are preparing for a tough title defence by playing several club friendlies. Antonio Conte’s men dropped their first preseason game, despite handing debuts to their key summer signings. And most recently, Udinese, who finished 12th in the table, are approaching the 2025-26 campaign with pessimism because one of their key players is out for at least the first few weeks.
Check out the latest Serie A 2025 updates, courtesy of SBOTOP.
Atalanta in danger of losing one more star
Atalanta just completed the sale of Mateo Retegui to Al-Qadsiah, who finished fourth in the Saudi Pro League last season, and the Italian striker penned a heartfelt goodbye letter for La Dea fans. Atalanta reportedly received £56 million for Retegui, making him the most expensive Italian player in history. He’ll essentially replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the Saudi Pro League side.
However, many argue that the Bergamo-based club could’ve gotten more for the 26-year-old because Retegui is coming off a highly productive 2024-25 campaign. With 25 league goals in 36 games, Retegui won the Capocannoniere award en route to securing Atalanta’s Champions League spot for next season.
Following Retegui’s departure, Atalanta are in danger of losing another one of their top attackers since Inter Milan are heavily pursuing Ademola Lookman. La Dea want at least €50 million for the 27-year-old forward, but the Nerazzurri are haggling for a lower transfer fee. Lookman’s stance of wanting to join Inter Milan might help both sides come to a compromise.
Lookman finished as the team’s second-leading scorer behind Retegui with 15 league goals and five assists. He is famously known for scoring a hat-trick in the European League final against Bayer Leverkusen, helping Atalanta win their first major European trophy in 2024.
Moreover, Atalanta are probably preparing for Lookman’s departure, as they recruited Kamaldeen Sulemana and Lamar Samardzic to bolster their attack. They also signed Odilon Kossounou from Bayer Leverkusen to beef up their backline.
Udinese dealt with big lineup blow
Maduka Okoye will miss at least six Serie A games for Udinese, as he is being investigated for betting irregularities. Fortunately for the 25-year-old goalkeeper, he was cleared of sporting fraud. His two-month ban will start at the opening game of the 2025-26 season, where Udinese will face Carrarese on August 18 during the first round of the Coppa Italia.
“The club is satisfied that the athlete has been totally cleared of the insulting allegations of match-fixing. The club cannot help but reaffirm the maximum support to Okoye, who is waiting to read the motivation of the sentencing. Udinese reaffirm our full faith in the correct behaviour of Maduka,” Udinese said in a statement.
Okoye had been accused of purposefully receiving a yellow card during a Serie A match against Lazio in March 2024 after many from the Udine area reportedly placed bets on the said outcome. The FIGC Federal Tribunal found that most of those bets allegedly generated over €120,000 in winnings.
Okoye had been one of the most underrated goalkeepers in Italy last season and was reportedly being pursued by Bournemouth. With their first-choice goalkeeper sidelined, head coach Kosta Runjaic will choose between 23-year-old Razvan Sava and 39-year-old Daniele Padelli to be the man between the sticks.
Napoli suffer defeat in preseason opener
Napoli have been one of the busiest teams in the summer transfer window, as they acquired the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Noa Lang, and Sam Beukema. The three of them made their debuts against Arezzo, which they lost 2-0 at Stadio Comunale earlier today.
The defeat is embarrassing for the reigning Serie A champions because Arezzo are from the third division. Antonio Conte’s men conceded a goal right before halftime and during stoppage time. Notably absent from the squad were Matteo Politano and Scott McTominay due to fitness concerns. However, we would be remiss not to give goalkeeper Luca Trombini a shoutout for giving Arezzo the clean sheet win.
Napoli’s preseason continues with another club friendly against Serie B outfit Catanzaro this Saturday. Meanwhile, the Partenopei are ramping up their pursuit of Bologna’s Dan Ndoye, but Nottingham Forest are in their way.
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