Welcome to Selhurst Park sign inside Crystal Palace's ground seen
Welcome to Selhurst Park sign inside Crystal Palace's ground seen
Peter Nicholls/Getty Images
Honest Ahanor’s agent Giuseppe Riso is of the view that Crystal Palace will be able to offer the young centre-back an NBA-like experience through the Premier League.
Palace manager Pierre Sage was keen to beef up certain areas of his squad, introducing some quality and the London outfit stayed up until late in the window to back their boss.
The Eagles were in a tug-of-war with Sunderland on deadline day to sign Malick Fofana from Lyon, but they ultimately failed due to the Black Cats offering slightly better terms to the player and the club.
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Defence is an area where Palace introduced most players in the form of Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben Chilwell, Anan Khalaili, Oscar Mingueza, Axel Disasi, who they wanted in the summer of 2025, and Ahanor.
They agreed to a loan deal with Atalanta to sign Ahanor, who came through the Bergamo outfit’s academy system and turned some heads with his performances.
The 18-year-old centre-back had his breakout season for the Serie A club last term and featured in a total of 35 games for them, including nine in Europe’s premier cup competition and Champions League.
Atalanta have already agreed to a deal with Chelsea for the Crystal Palace star, which will see Ahanor join the Eagles’ London rivals in the next summer on a permanent deal for a fee in the region of £40m.
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Season Position
2025-26 15th
2024–25 12th
2023–24 10th
2022–23 11th
2021–22 12th
Riso thinks that Ahanor’s move to the Premier League will be very decisive for his development, as the league will prove to be challenging for the young defender.
The Italian agent also added that Crystal Palace will be able to offer him NBA experience, comparing the Premier League with the top American basketball competition.
When asked about Ahanor’s move, Riso told Italian daily Tutto Sport: “For Atalanta, it is undoubtedly a major deal.
“But if such a young player commands a valuation of that magnitude, it also means that even today in Italy we have the talent and know how to develop it.
“The fact that they stay here is not the main issue, especially if their destination is the Premier League – a league I have often described as the NBA of football and which, as such, can certainly make a decisive contribution to their development, because it’s highly challenging, sending them back to our national team stronger than ever.
“The real challenge for Serie A is to create the right conditions for these young players to develop fully here, before we have to sell them.”
Ahanor joined Crystal Palace on the deadline day and watched on as his new side beat Fulham 3-2 on Saturday.
The 18-year-old defender will now be counting the days until he can make his Eagles debut and sample the Premier League.