Player now dropped for first league game after reports Man United and Liverpool willing to bid £51m

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Manchester United and Liverpool are both still in the market for reinforcements as we enter the final two weeks of the summer transfer window.

Liverpool are pushing to sign a new central midfielder, while Manchester United are also hunting for a new option in that department amid links to Manuel Ugarte.

Now – however – a forward who has found himself linked with both Erik ten Hag and Arne Slot‘s respective sides has just been dropped…

Ademola Lookman dropped by Atalanta amid links to Manchester United and Liverpool

Atalanta No.11 Ademola Lookman has suddenly been dropped from the squad by Gian Piero Gasperini as his future is clouded in uncertainty.

The Nigeria international was involved on Wednesday as Atalanta suffered a 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup, so his removal from the squad for Monday’s Serie A clash against Lecce has certainly come out of the blue.

It comes after Calciomercato claimed that Manchester United and Liverpool are both willing to bid £51m for Lookman after his outstanding 2023/24 campaign.

The 26-year-old impressively scored 17 goals and provided ten assists in 45 appearances for Atalanta, including a hat trick against Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Europa League final.

Fabrizio Romano has since posted that Paris Saint-Germain and clubs in Saudi Arabia are keeping an eye on Lookman’s situation.

Nigeria international could replace Luis Diaz

As this summer transfer window goes on, there are more and more stories linking Luis Diaz with a move away from Anfield – mainly to Barcelona.

Francois Plateau recently claimed that Barcelona are willing to offer Frenkie de Jong to Liverpool in a bid to sign the Colombia international.

There have even been reports stating that Diaz is tempted by the chance to join Barcelona this summer.

Lookman is able to play anywhere across the frontline, although he typically operates on the left of attack, the same area as the Liverpool No.7 – so he would be a natural replacement for the South American.

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Be sure to keep an eye on this situation, as the Londoner’s future is well and truly up in the air.