Parma have signed Atalanta forward El Bilal Toure on loan for the next season, with the agreement including a conditional obligation to make the transfer permanent if the club remain in Serie A.
The loan fee is €1.5m, according to respected Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio. Parma will have to complete the permanent transfer if they retain their top-flight status at the end of the forthcoming campaign.
Atalanta have also secured a 15% sell-on clause as part of the agreement. That means the Italian club would be entitled to 15% of any future transfer fee should Toure subsequently leave Parma in a permanent deal.
For Parma, the move provides an opportunity to add an attacking option while linking the long-term cost of the transfer to their position in Serie A. For Atalanta, it offers Toure another chance to establish himself away from the club after a difficult spell following his arrival in Bergamo.
The 25-year-old Mali forward spent last season on loan at Turkish club Besiktas. His move to Parma will therefore represent a second successive temporary transfer, with his future now dependent in part on Parma’s performance in the Italian top flight.
Atalanta signed Toure in 2023 for €31m, making him the most expensive acquisition in the club’s history. However, he has not fulfilled the expectations that accompanied that record transfer, and he has now been allowed to leave on loan again.
The structure of the Parma agreement gives Atalanta a potential route to recover their investment while retaining a financial interest in Toure’s future. If Parma stay up, the conditional permanent transfer will be activated; if they are relegated, the arrangement will not lead automatically to a full move under the terms reported by Di Marzio.
Toure’s immediate task will be to make an impact at Parma during the coming Serie A season. The club’s league position will determine whether his stay is limited to one campaign or becomes a permanent transfer.
His move also marks the latest stage in a career that has not yet matched the level anticipated when Atalanta paid a club-record €31m for him two years ago. After spending the previous season at Besiktas, Toure will now continue his career in Italy with Parma, who have secured the forward on a deal based on both a €1.5m loan payment and a condition connected to top-flight survival.
