Over the past week, Atalanta have been trying to make progress in a move for Southampton’s Kamaldeen Sulemana.
They’ve come close to meeting the Saints’ asking price but there was something of a crawl to a final agreement.
Progress now seems to have been made and the deal has been unlocked by Atalanta left-back Matteo Ruggeri’s sale to Atletico Madrid for €20m.
Gazzetta dello Sport report that because of the Italian’s exit, Sulemana will arrive at Atalanta from Southampton for a fee of €17m. They believe that an agreement has been reached between the two clubs and an announcement for the forward’s transfer will be made today.
Southampton are being guaranteed a 10% sell-on clause in the deal and it can be presumed this has proved key in the move. That is because earlier this week, there were claims that the South Coast club wanted close to €20m to sell Sulemana. The deal is now going through for a lower fee.
Quotidiano Sportivo add more detail, reporting the Ghana international has an agreement over personal terms with Atalanta and will sign a four-year deal worth €1.5m per season.
The forward showed glimpses of his strengths under Ivan Juric last season and it’s no surprise he wants to reunite with the Croatian in Bergamo.
