Chelsea considering move for Ahanor

Premier League giants Chelsea are in advanced talks over a €40m deal for Atalanta’s Italian-born Nigerian defender Honest Ahanor.

This was revealed by European transfer expert and Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.

“Chelsea are in advanced talks over a €40 million deal for Honest Ahanor from Atalanta,” Romano wrote on his X handle.

“I understand the deal for the 18-year-old defender would include joining a Premier League club this summer to develop and then joining Chelsea in June 2027.

“Honestly, I already said yes to Chelsea.”

Ahanor played 22 games for Atalanta in the 2025/2026 Serie A season.

As a youth player, Ahanor joined the youth academy of Italian club Genoa. During the 2023/24 season he played for the club’s under-15, under-16 and under-17 teams. He helped the team earn a 2-2 draw against Napoli on May 11, 2025.

On July 4, 2025, Ahanor signed with Atalanta for a reported fee of €16 million, plus €4 million in bonuses. He signed a three-year contract with the club, the maximum duration allowed for being under 18 years old.

Also on September 30, Ahanor made his Champions League debut, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 victory against Club Brugge.

The son of Nigerian parents, until he turned 18, Ahanor was eligible to play only for Nigeria.

Also read: Chelsea consider late move for former Arsenal star

Despite being Italian by education and cultural identity, he has never been eligible to represent Italy at youth level. Under current Italian law, children born in Italy to foreign parents cannot automatically acquire citizenship.

They will be able to apply only after turning 18 years old, as long as they have lived in the country continuously and legally. Ahanor’s case has reignited debate over Italian citizenship rules for second-generation immigrants.

After turning 18 and applying for Italian citizenship, he received his first call-up to Italy U21 on March 20, 2026 by coach Silvio Baldini.

In May 2026, Ahanor was one of the players who were called up to the senior Italy team by interim coach Silvio Baldini, for the friendly matches against Luxembourg and Greece on June 3 and 7, 2026, respectively.

By James Agberebi