These are testing times for Atalanta fans, who have had it so good for so long. Here, we take a look at what happens next after key departures and major change at the Gewiss Stadium.

End of an Era

Gian Piero Gasperini changed Atalanta entirely. He altered the trajectory of the club, wrote it into the history books in ways that never seemed possible and made a fanbase believe they are bigger than they ever dreamed they could be.

Now Gasperini has gone and everything is different. Supporters of the Bergamo side are left staring into the unknown and La Dea feels like a fatherless child. The boss has left the building and top players are following him out the door.

The future is uncertain for Atalanta after the greatest era in their history. In six of the past nine Serie A seasons they finished fourth or higher and never slipped lower than eighth. They reached three Coppa Italia finals and won the Europa League in 2024. Can they keep the ball rolling in the midst of huge change or will this great chapter be followed by a crushing decline?

Ivan Juric

Statistically speaking, new Atalanta boss Juric has one of the worst records in Premier League history. He was in charge of Southampton when they were relegated last season with seven games to go – the earliest point a team has been sent down. And the Croat has the lowest points-per-game record (0.29) in the modern English top flight for a boss who managed at least 10 games. This happened just a few months ago when he took over at St Mary’s for what was the end of a dreadful season all round for the club.

Juric’s previous job was at Roma where he lasted just 12 games in late 2024. He has never won a trophy as a manager, nor did he as a player, with his only significant success as a coach coming with Crotone back in 2015-16. That season he led them to second place in Serie B, earning automatic promotion to Serie A.

But there is some degree of familiarity. Juric started his journey in management as assistant coach to Gasperini at Inter and then again at Palermo. He also worked with the current Atalanta director Tony D’Amico at Hellas Verona. Both men obviously regard Juric as a good option, but given his track record you can see why some Atalanta fans are scratching their heads. Not least when they compare him to the messianic figure of Gasperini. For now the jury is out on the new man in charge.

What About the Team? 

Huge question marks surround the squad with very few signings so far. Kamaldeen Sulemana follows Juric to Bergamo from Southampton; the attacker from Ghana is just 23 but played 26 Premier League games last year. Highly rated Italian 17-year-old Honest Ahanor also arrives, but the left-back from Genoa has made only six top-flight appearances.

The two new recruits are talented but lacking in experience and have not played Champions League football. However, it is those who are leaving that make the future look more worrying than anything.

In Mateo Retegui (sold to Al Qadsiah of the Saudi Pro League for €68.25million) and Ademola Lookman (on the brink of a move to Inter) Atalanta are losing the best and third-best goalscorers from the 2024-25 Serie A campaign. Nerazzurri fans might want to avoid the next couple of paragraphs.

Only four players scored 15 or more Serie A goals last season – Retegui and Lookman were two of them. The pair provided a total of 53 goal contributions for Atalanta last term, scoring 40 between them, more than the rest of the squad combined. It is never easy to replace crucial players but the numbers suggest that crucial is an understatement here.

Lookman and Retegui accounted for over half of Atalanta’s expected goal opportunities and it is obvious there are very few players performing at their level in the attacking third across the entire league.

The likes of Charles De Ketelaere, Daniel Maldini and Gianluca Scamacca are talented Atalanta players but it would be a shock if they got close to replicating what Gasperini’s dynamic duo achieved last season.

At least La Dea might still bring in a star forward in what remains of the transfer window, but this team has a lot of work to do in order to replicate last year.

The past was magnificent but at the moment the future could not be more of a mystery. And who are Atalanta’s biggest threat in the top-four race? Gian Piero Gasperini’s Roma.