Mateo Retegui has opened the door to a €20m per season contract with Al-Qadsiah, who are now working to meet Atalanta’s €60m asking price.
The Italy international had initially had some concerns about the idea of moving to the Saudi Pro League at this stage of his career.
However, negotiations and the idea of a €20m per season salary including bonuses seemingly managed to quell those fears and he is now open to accepting the contract.
Retegui now ready for Al-Qadsiah adventure
It is therefore up to Al-Qadsiah to agree on a fee with Atalanta, whose asking price is going to be in the region of €60m.
It would represent a big profit for La Dea, who paid €21.9m to sign him less than a year ago from Genoa.
The 26-year-old made a huge impact in Bergamo, where he was crowned Serie A Capocannoniere thanks to 25 goals and eight assists in 36 appearances.
Retegui also has six goals in 20 senior caps for Italy and it remains to be seen if this move would affect his international standing for the Azzurri.
Atalanta have already cast their eye towards Udinese’s Italian striker Lorenzo Lucca as a potential replacement.
What a waste of a career
Typical dumb Serie A. Those oil clubs paid over 70m for an A Villa reserve, yet a Serie A side would let the league’s top scorer go for less.
Probably bad for Italy too, and Atalanta’s already faltering CL hopes.