Atalanta line up Igor Tudor as Maurizio Sarri feels the heat after Ajax and Frosinone

Atalanta's stuttering start boils over

Atalanta are weighing a change in the dugout, with former Tottenham Hotspur boss Igor Tudor emerging as the leading candidate to replace Maurizio Sarri should results not improve.

The Bergamo club were held to a dramatic 4-4 draw by Frosinone at the weekend and had earlier suffered a defeat to Ajax in the Conference League, piling further pressure onto Sarri. According to TuttoJuve, via Get Italian Football News, the coming fixtures will be decisive for the coach's future, with the club unhappy at the current state of affairs.

The dressing room is similarly restless. Atalanta have collected just ten points from their opening eight league games and failed to overcome Ajax on the European stage, leaving players and directors alike questioning the trajectory of the season.

Tudor the frontrunner

If the slide continues, Tudor would be the standout name to take charge. The Croatian last managed Tottenham for a short spell towards the end of last season and is well known to sporting director Cristiano Guintoli from their shared time at Juventus, where Tudor spent a few months as manager and steered the Bianconeri into the Champions League.

There is also a financial incentive. As reported by Get Italian Football News, Atalanta could offer Tudor a lower salary than Sarri currently commands, with La Dea keen to avoid carrying two managers on the payroll simultaneously.

A season of struggle

The unrest is the latest chapter in a turbulent first campaign for Sarri in Bergamo. On 16 October 2026, the coach urged his side to remain humble ahead of their Conference League opener against Pafos and admitted that leaving Chelsea for Juventus "perhaps was an error," with the club still recovering from a run of three straight Serie A defeats. Weeks earlier, on 21 September 2026, Sarri had hit back at critics ahead of a reunion with former club Juventus, insisting coaches cannot "control the players" like joysticks.

Whether those defiant words prove to be the high-water mark of his Atalanta tenure now rests on the next set of results.