Serie A club Atalanta have agreed to sign Ivory Coast international Odilon Kossounou on a season-long loan deal from Bayer Leverkusen, Afrosport reports.
Kossounou, who was part of the Ivorian team that won the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, will join Gian Piero Gasperini’s side in a deal that will see Atalanta pay a loan fee of €5.5 million.
According to reports, the agreement includes a non-mandatory €25 million buy option for Atalanta.
🚨⚫️🔵 Odilon Kossounou to Atalanta, here we go! Deal now verbally agreed after initial bid reported overnight.
€5.5m loan fee, €25m buy option and NO mandatory clause.
↪️🔴⚫️ Bayer Leverkusen set to replace him with Nordi Mukiele from PSG, loan at final stages. pic.twitter.com/NaoVtjuiZk
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 27, 2024
Kossounou, who can play as both a centre-back and right-back, joined Leverkusen in 2021 from Belgian side Club Brugge, where he enjoyed a two-year spell having initially joined in 2019.
He enjoyed immense success with Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen last season, as they won the club’s first Bundesliga title as well as claiming the DFB-Pokal and reaching the final of the UEFA Europa League, where they were beaten 3-0 by Atalanta.
Kossounou, who started in Ivory Coast’s AFCON 2023 final win over Nigeria, played 102 matches for Leverkusen, scoring one goal and providing three assists in all competitions.
The Ivorian, who has not featured for Leverkusen this season, will now fly to Bergamo to undergo a medical before signing his contract with Atalanta.
Meanwhile, Leverkusen were swift to find a replacement as the German champions agreed French defender Nordi Mukiele on a season-long loan deal from Paris Saint-Germain.
🔴⚫️🤝🏻 Nordi Mukiele to Bayer Leverkusen, here we go! Deal agreed with PSG today.
Loan move, FULL salary covered by Bayer and there will be NO buy option clause in the agreement.
Mukiele’s medical has already been booked. pic.twitter.com/aCGuo7JgSn
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 27, 2024
