According to reports from Fabrizio Romano, Crystal Palace are signing Atalanta defender Honest Ahanor on loan for the 2026/27 season. The 18-year-old defender joins Pierre Sage’s side on a season-long loan move from Italian side Atalanta. 

Ahanor will then return to Atalanta and be sold to Chelsea for a fee which has already been agreed at £40 million. 

Palace will effectively be providing Ahanor with a stepping stone into English football before he makes the move to Chelsea, and whilst the Italian defender is extremely talented, it is hard to see how this deal benefits the South London club. 

Ahanor signs in as the replacement for Chadi Riad who is set to miss the season with the knee injury sustained on the opening weekend of the Premier League. 

After selling Maxence Lacroix over a month ago, Palace have been searching for a leader and ready-made central defensive replacement. A deal for Joel Ordóñez could still happen but Palace have publicly withdrawn interest after realising the extent of the metatarsal injury sustained at the World Cup. 

Many names have been linked, but the reality is that this signing does not replace Lacroix either. 

During Palace’s first game of the season, a 2-0 defeat away to Everton, Chadi Riad went down with a knee injury which looks set to rule him out for all of if not the majority of the season. 

Ahanor comes in as depth to replace Riad, and whilst he’s extraordinarily young, he’s a very promising talent and one which could offer Palace quality straight away. The dampener on this deal is that there is no possibility that Palace secure his services on a permanent basis, with a future transfer already agreed with Chelsea. 

The deal therefore plugs a hole in Palace’s squad but ultimately sees Sage develop a player for another club, whilst current Chelsea man Axel Disasi is already doing the same thing in South London this term. 

Whilst Palace have continued to deal with Chelsea in the past, it has rarely seen the South London side benefit. Chelsea don’t deal to benefit anyone but themselves and their business model. 

Ahanor is naturally a left-back but has operated as a left-sided central defender. The 18-year-old has played 35 times for Atalanta after he was signed from Genoa for £14 million last summer. 

One year with Atalanta, which included nine Champions League appearances, has led to Chelsea agreeing terms on a £40 million transfer pre-scheduled for the summer of 2027. 

Ahanor is an athletic, aggressive defender who is confident and strong in possession. His performances for Atalanta have earned him international recognition, the youngster making his full debut for the Italian national side in a 1-0 win over Greece where he played the entire first half. 

He flies out from defence consistently and is exceptionally aggressive in his challenges, having no issues with competing physically with players bigger or more experienced than him. 

Stylistically he is most similar to the likes of Leny Yoro at Manchester United or Calvin Bassey at Fulham. 

His final actions such as passing and shot creation are ranked very highly amongst central defenders in Europe’s top five leagues, and Ahanor also ranks in the elite category for his defensive volume, making 3.24 tackles and interceptions per/90. He ranks in the 93rd percentile for defensive ground duels, demonstrating his dominance considering his age. 

It’s disappointing that Palace will only have Ahanor for one season, but he could certainly make an impact on the league and Pierre Sage’s squad.