Honest Ahanor ‘to join’ Crystal Palace on loan before Chelsea move | OneFootball

Crystal Palace are set to take Italy international Honest Ahanor on loan from Atalanta for the rest of the season.

The Athletic reports that Chelsea have agreed a £40million ($54.2m) deal with Atalanta, with long-term personal terms finalised, and plan for him to join permanently after the loan. He is viewed as one for the future, so a loan was chosen to ensure regular first-team minutes.

Palace’s strong relationship with Chelsea eased discussions, and Ahanor would help offset Chadi Riad’s ACL injury, which is expected to keep the defender out until at least late in the season. Adding him would take Palace to five centre-backs for three positions, though doubts remain over the unit’s level.

The transactions are being handled separately by all three clubs, with Atalanta sanctioning the Palace loan now.

This structure fits Premier League rules, since Palace already have Axel Disasi on loan from Chelsea and cannot take another from Stamford Bridge. Ahanor would arrive from Atalanta, and Chelsea are not officially signing him yet.

He also reflects a recent trend of top Italian talents moving to England early, following Michael Kayode at Brentford, Liverpool’s Giovanni Leoni and his future Chelsea team-mate Marco Palestra.

Source: NY Times

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”