Atalanta received a substantial offer in January for Mateo Retegui, the Italian forward who joined last summer for 22 million euros. Al Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo`s club, was keen on acquiring him. The Saudi Arabian club made a very attractive offer, close to the amount Aston Villa paid for Jhon Duran.
Despite the almost irresistible proposal, Atalanta decided to reject it. This doesn`t rule out a potential transfer next summer, but Retegui was considered crucial for Atalanta`s ambitions to remain competitive at the top of the league.
Following Atalanta`s refusal, Al Nassr then pursued and signed Duran for around 80 million euros. Retegui could become another profitable sale for Atalanta, similar to Cristian Romero and others. If an offer exceeding 55-60 million euros arrives, the striker might leave Bergamo after just one year. So far, he has scored 22 goals in 29 matches, approaching Filippo Inzaghi`s historical scoring record for Atalanta. Inzaghi scored 24 goals in the 1996-97 season and became the league`s top scorer, the only Atalanta player to achieve this. Juventus has been monitoring Retegui for some time, although making a significant attacking signing would be challenging without a major sale.