Arsenal and Chelsea are reportedly considering making a move to sign Atalanta star Honest Ahanor, as per TEAMtalk.
After coming through Genoa’s youth system, the 18-year-old made his first team debut a couple of years ago before joining La Dea last summer. He played as a rotational option at New Balance Arena last term but still showed glimpses of his qualities.
In 19 starts across all competitions, the youngster scored a solitary goal and helped his side keep six clean sheets. After impressing in club football, he has already made his international debut for Italy.
Now, TEAMtalk claim that Ahanor’s recent eye-catching performances haven’t gone unnoticed as he has been attracting a lot of attention in this window.
Chelsea are interested in him and have been monitoring his development extensively. Moreover, Arsenal and Manchester City are in this race, and they have also been keeping a close eye on his performances.
However, Brighton and Hove Albion have already made a formal approach to sign him. They have launched a £34m proposal, but Atalanta have rejected it.
The Italian side have no intention of letting him leave after cashing-in on Ederson and Marco Palestra this summer. With the player’s existing deal set to run until 2028, they aren’t in any rush to sell him, and the player is valued at around £26m by Transfermarkt.
Battle
Ahanor is a versatile left-footed defender as he is comfortable in the centre-back and left-back positions. He is a talented player and possesses the necessary physical attributes to flourish in the Premier League.
Having already got Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Piero Hincapié, Arsenal don’t need to invest more to add further depth to the left side of the defence. Instead, they would be better off saving the funds to upgrade other areas of the squad.
On the other hand, Chelsea are seemingly planning to reinforce the backline this summer after appointing Xabi Alonso as the new manager. They have been heavily linked with a move for Maxence Lacroix, with Ahanor emerging as another target.
It is going to be interesting to see whether the North London club or the West London club eventually make a concrete approach to secure his services.