Atalanta have been fixtures in European football since Gian Piero Gasperini arrived in Bergamo in 2016, and La Dea will be headed to their fourth Champions League appearance under the leadership of the Italian manager after winning the Europa League over a previously undefeated Bayer Leverkusen and holding off a challenge from fairytale side Bologna.
With smart transfer business and a fluid tactical system, Atalanta often unearth some of European football’s most exciting players and biggest gems – stars like Rasmus Hojlund that go on to play for Manchester United.
The 2024/25 Atalanta side is no exception and may be their most gifted in years. Here are five players on La Dea you need to know before the next Serie A season kicks off.
Note: Teun Koopmeiners would be on this list but is not included since the defensive midfielder is so close to a deal with Juventus, who have pursued him since the winter, that many outlets are reporting a deal will be completed in the future. Should the deal fall through in the end, the post will be adjusted accordingly.
FW Charles De Ketelaere
Branded as a bust after one poor season with AC Milan in which he was never given a chance by the club, the Rossoneri’s loss has very much become Atalanta’s gain, as La Dea have obtained one of the most talented technical attackers in Italian football.
De Ketelaere’s loan move to Atalanta very obviously became permanent at the end of the season in which he was arguably the club’s best player along Teun Koopmeiners, standing out even above his talented attacking teammates.
“CDK” scored 10 goals with 8 assists, with the key to his success being Gian Piero Gasperini’s astute observation that he had to play the 23-year-old Belgian close to goal to get the most out of him.
Milan’s mistake was not believing in the talent of a player who had 14 goals and 8 and 9 assists in back-to-back seasons for prestigious Belgian side Club Bruges. Now, he looks set to outperform those numbers in Serie A in his second season in Bergamo.
FW Ademola Lookman
Ademola Lookman is yet another talented attacker who transformed his career under Gasperini, going from a bust for Everton and RB Leipzig to one of the best forwards in Italian football.
Arriving in Bergamo a year before De Ketealere, Lookman emerged as the clear star of Atalanta in the 2022/23 season and one of the best players in Serie A, scoring 13 goals with 6 assists as an all-around creator of havoc.
Lookman helped accommodate the signings of De Ketelaere and marksman Gianluca Scamacca of West Ham, yet he was still able to get his own numbers up to snuff again with 11 more goals and 7 assists to his resume with similarly great numbers in the Europa League – which Atalanta won.
Underrated and in his prime at 26 years old, the Nigerian international is a consistent presence in the Atalanta attack who makes the other players around him better; he is vital to La Dea’s success.
ST Gianluca Scamacca
Like so many talented strikers, Gianluca Scamacca couldn’t quite find the right environment at West Ham, so he returned to Serie A after previously being THE striker prospect to watch in Italian football for Sassuolo – a haven for exciting talents.
Scamacca always had potential as a slick, ice-cold scorer, and he may finally be taking some big steps towards filling his copious potential as the solution to Italy’s long-evasive No. 9 problem.
The 23-year-old played a key role in Atalanta winning the Europa League and finishing in the top four of Serie A, scoring 12 goals with 6 assists. Key to his success has been becoming more of a team player and creator up top for Atalanta.
With Atalanta, Scamacca is becoming both more dangerous and more mature as a striker, and he could really start to reach his peak level over the next three seasons in Bergamo.
CB Giorgio Scalvini
So much hype has gone to Manchester United-bound Leny Yoro because of his great season for Lille at the age of 18 and the flattering interest from two of Europe’s most historic clubs in Real Madrid and Man United, but Giorgio Scalvini cannot be forgotten.
Scalvini is, just as much as Arsenal’s new signing Riccardo Calafiori and Inter Milan champion Alessandro Bastoni, one of the next great center backs in Italian football.
After a strong breakout campaign in 2022/23, the 20-year-old Scalvini had another excellent season in Serie A with 1.6 tackles and 1.8 interceptions per game, even providing three assists for his teammates.
It will be exciting to see how Scalvini continues to progress under Gasperini, especially with how much emphasis is placed on Atalanta’s center backs aiding the attack as passers and even scoring options.
Scalvini is already getting the defending down pat in a taxing system, and he could make some major strides in the future. However, a lot of that hinges on how he bounces back from a torn ACL, and with previous nagging injuries, the U21 defender already has to worry about the dreaded injury-prone label.
Still, the odds are in his favor of bouncing back from the injury, and if he does, you had better believe clubs like Real Madrid and Liverpool will be moving on from Yoro to Scalvini as their obsession.
CM Ederson
Ederson became a big transfer target for top Premier League clubs like Tottenham and Manchester United after an exceptional Europa League tournament that included a shutdown performance against the stars of Bayer Leverkusen.
The 25-year-old had two tackles, two interceptions, two dribbles completed, two fouls drawn, and a key pass in Atalanta’s shocking demolition of Die Werkself in the Europa League Final.
Throughout the season, Ederson was a colossal presence for Atalanta in the middle of the park, proving to be one of the elite box-to-box midfielders in just his second season in the Italian top flight, growing from a promising 2022/23 season.
The Brazilian international averaged 3.4 combined tackles and interceptions with six goals scored and even stronger underlying numbers in the Champions League, including 1.1 key passes and 1.5 fouls drawn on the attacking end.
Atalanta will hope that they won’t lose Ederson in addition to Teun Koopmeiners, because the former Salernitana man is also a great midfielder entering the prime of his career in Serie A.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other major outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.