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Atalanta – 2025-26 Season Preview: Depth Expansion and Youth Integration in a Press-Driven System




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Atalanta – 2025–26 Season Preview: Depth Expansion and Youth Integration in a Press-Driven System

Atalanta come into the 2025–26 Serie A season with a reinforced midfield, growing wingback options, and renewed emphasis on physical transitions. Under Gian Piero Gasperini, the Bergamaschi remain wedded to a high-intensity 3-4-2-1 setup that thrives on vertical surges, overlapping width, and quick attacking combinations.

Key Players & Core Structure

Marco Carnesecchi solidified himself as first-choice goalkeeper, playing all 34 matches and totaling 3,060 minutes with increasing command, Marten de Roon (3,059 minutes), Éderson (2,888 minutes), and Berat Djimsiti (2,647 minutes) formed the structural spine, responsible for stability in transitions and defensive cover, Raoul Bellanova (2,408 minutes) adds thrust on the right flank, while Mateo Retegui delivered 2,405 minutes as the main center-forward, Isak Hien, Ademola Lookman, and Charles De Ketelaere round out a dynamic midfield and attacking core, with Lookman contributing 2,366 minutes and De Ketelaere logging 2,318, Veteran fullbacks Davide Zappacosta (2,073 minutes) and Sead Kolašinac (1,910 minutes) ensure experience on the wings, with Mario Pašali? acting as a roaming offensive link in the final third.

Departures

Matteo Ruggeri has left the club, key goal scorer, reducing Atalanta’s depth on the left side and triggering a tactical need to redistribute flank duties across Kolašinac and new additions, As of the 2025 summer transfer window, Matteo Ruggeri has joined Napoli from Atalanta.

New Arrivals

Lazar Samardži? (from Udinese): Creative midfielder and versatile 10, logging 1,151 minutes across 7(24) appearances, Odilon Kossounou (from Bayer Leverkusen): Powerful right-center-back and versatile defensive option (1,126 minutes), Marco Brescianini (from Frosinone): Central midfielder with pressing capabilities; played 982 minutes in 9(20) appearances, Juan Cuadrado (free agent from Inter): Veteran wide option, now 37, still effective in bursts (827 minutes), Rafael Tolói (internal returnee): Former starter returning to a rotational role; brings experience, Nicolò Zaniolo (from Galatasaray/Aston Villa loan): Dynamic attacking midfielder with flexibility across the front (344 minutes), Kamaldeen Sulemana (from Southampton): High-speed winger for transition-heavy matches; yet to feature, Honest Amos (from Atalanta Primavera): 17-year-old defender entering the senior rotation and Marco Sportiello (from AC Milan): Veteran goalkeeper reinforcing backup depth.

These additions indicate a balance of win-now experience (Cuadrado, Tolói, Zaniolo) and future investment (Kossounou, Samardži?, Amos).

Substitute Depth & Rotation

Atalanta’s bench is becoming increasingly versatile: Samardži?, Brescianini, and Zaniolo offer varying profiles of midfield thrust, from creative roaming to box arrival, Cuadrado and Kossounou add dual-role capacity down the right flank, Sulemana, once integrated, brings dribbling and chaos potential in transition-heavy games Tolói, despite his age, maintains positional discipline when deployed in defensive rotations.

Atalanta’s 2025–26 squad is deeper, more dynamic, and tactically flexible. While the departure of Ruggeri reduces some flank consistency, smart additions like Samardži?, Kossounou, and Zaniolo provide both short-term quality and long-term upside. With a steady veteran base and exciting youth integration, Atalanta remain firmly in the European qualification conversation, with dark horse potential depending on Retegui’s scoring consistency.


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