Atalanta have Brighton and Lyon strikers on shortlist to replace Retegui

Wednesday’s reports claim that Atalanta already have three players on their shortlist to replace the departing Mateo Retegui, including the Roma-linked Evan Ferguson and Georges Mikautadze from Lyon.

Reports earlier on Wednesday confirmed that Atalanta have sealed a deal to sell Italy international Retegui to Saudi Pro League side Al-Qadsiah for a whopping €67m after just one season with La Dea.

Once the deal is made officially, Retegui will become the second-most expensive sale in Atalanta’s history, second only to Rasmus Hojlund, who joined Manchester United in a €75m deal in the summer of 2023.

Atalanta’s imminent sale of Retegui leaves new head coach Ivan Juric in need of a new centre-forward to compete with Gianluca Scamacca for the start of the 2025-26 campaign.

According to reports from Gianluca Di Marzio, Atalanta already have three centre-forwards in mind.

Among them is Republic of Ireland international Evan Ferguson from Brighton and Hove Albion, who has also recently been linked with a loan move to join Roma, coincidentally coached by former Atalanta tactician Gian Piero Gasperini.

Unlike Roma, La Dea will be in a position to offer Brighton a permanent deal for Ferguson after the €67m sale of Retegui goes through.

Di Marzio adds that Lyon striker and Georgia international Georges Mikautadze is also a potential option for Juric this summer.

The third possible scenario is the signing of Lorenzo Lucca, who for the majority of the transfer window thus far, has been linked with a move to join Antonio Conte’s Napoli.