I wonder what will happen to Atalanta next season, they sold their top scorer, they let their best coach go and now they could also lose their second top scorer:
Ademola Lookman didn't do very well last season. In 31 games, he only managed to score 15 goals. It's not a small number, but it's also not a very high number that might surprise anyone. However, it's a fact that he's an excellent player. He has great skills, and if Atalanta sells him, then next season Atalanta's attack will be very weak. Atalanta probably won't even be able to finish above 5th place. I see that they will have a better chance of finishing in the Europa League qualifying positions.
Lookman is more than a scorer for Atalanta as he can provide more contributions than goals. He scored three goals for Atalanta to beat Bayer Leverkusen and brought an UEFA Europa League trophy to the club two years ago. With his talent, and many good offers from big clubs in Europe, surely Atalanta have to sell him when his transfer price is at highest figure.
As a small club, Atalanta have no choice and I think Gasperini saw all these things to come so he decided to leave the club. He is experienced enough to know that building up another player generation to gain similar success with Atalanta is impossible and his time with Atalanta is ending.
A next season will be very challenging for Atalanta as they will have to secure a position in top four of Serie A while have to play at Champions League as well.