epa11712925 Atalanta’s coach Gian Piero Gasperini during the Italian Serie A soccer match Atalanta BC vs Udinese Calcio at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, 10 November 2024. EPA-EFE/MICHELE MARAVIGLIA
Now that Gian Piero Gasperini has agreed to join Roma, Atalanta are seeking a replacement, talking to Maurizio Sarri, Stefano Pioli, Thiago Motta and Raffaele Palladino.
As reported earlier today, despite pressure from Juventus and a last-ditch hope from La Dea that he would change his mind, Gasperini has given his word to take over from Claudio Ranieri at the Stadio Olimpico.
The coach is expected to sign a three-year contract with the Giallorossi, which means he is leaving Bergamo after nine extraordinarily successful seasons.
Atalanta are expected to announce his contract termination over the weekend, so must speed up the search for his replacement.
List of Atalanta candidates
According to Sportitalia transfer expert Alfredo Pedullà, the preferred candidates are Pioli and Sarri.
While Pioli would first need to negotiate a termination by mutual consent with Al-Nassr in order to accept the Serie A return, there is strong competition for Sarri from his old club Lazio.
Other alternatives lower down the pecking order are recently sacked Juventus boss Thiago Motta, and an intriguing Palladino.
They are both former players who learned a lot from working with Gasperini and took many of his ideas into their own coaching careers.
Palladino was at Fiorentina, but abruptly tended his resignation yesterday, which was formally accepted today.
