Италийн хамгаалагч Оноре Аханор улирлын үлдсэн хугацаанд Кристал Пэлас клубт зээлээр тоглохоор болсон нь Премьер лигийн дүрэм журамтай холбоотой сонирхолтой нөхцөл байдлыг үүсгээд байна.
Челси Аталанта клубтэй 18 настай хамгаалагч Оноре Аханорыг 40 сая фунт стерлингээр худалдаж авах урьдчилсан гэрээ байгуулсан бөгөөд тоглогч ирэх зун Челсигийн бүрэлдэхүүнд нэгдэх юм. Энэ хугацаанд Аханор Аталантагаас Кристал Пэлас багт зээлээр шилжиж, Премьер лигийн туршлага хуримтлуулахаар болжээ. Кристал Пэлас клубийн хамгаалагч Чади Риад бэртлийн улмаас улирлын ихэнх хэсгийг өнжихөөр болсон тул зүүн хөлтэй хамгаалагч Аханорыг гурван хамгаалагчийн системд нөхөн тоглуулахаар төлөвлөж байна.
Премьер лигийн дүрмийн дагуу нэг клубээс зээлсэн тоглогчтой нэгэн зэрэг өөр тоглогч зээлэх боломжгүй бөгөөд мөн нэг цонхоор ирсэн тоглогчийг дахин зээлэхийг хориглодог. Гэсэн хэдий ч Аханорын шилжилт нь Аталанта болон Кристал Пэлас хоорондын гэрээ тул Челсигийн өмнө нь зээлсэн Аксель Дисасигийн асуудалтай давхцахгүй гэж үзэж байна.
Аханор нь 2024 оны есдүгээр сард 16 насандаа Серие А-д дебютээ хийсэн бөгөөд Аталанта түүнийг 16 сая еврогоор эгнээндээ нэгтгэж байв. Түүнийг Премьер лигийн хурд, бие бялдрын шаардлагад дасгах нь Челсигийн ирээдүйн төлөвлөгөөнд чухал ач холбогдолтой юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Crystal Palace are set to sign defender Honest Ahanor on loan from Atalanta for the rest of the season, with an agreement in place for the 18-year-old to then join Chelsea on a permanent deal.
The spell with Palace will give the Italy international the chance to experience the Premier League, but with them having already signed fellow centre-back Axel Disasi on loan from Chelsea this summer, are there any issues with him moving to Selhurst Park before he goes to Stamford Bridge? And what will he offer Palace over the coming months?
Simon Johnson, James Horncastle and Matt Woosnam explain this unusual transfer story.
So, Chelsea have a deal for Ahanor but he won’t join them until next year?
Yes, that’s right. The Athletic reported last week that Chelsea had reached an agreement with Atalanta to sign Ahanor for £40million($54.2m). Personal terms on a long-term contract were also finalised with a player they have been tracking for some time.
Ahanor is seen as one for the future, rather than somebody ready to be a first-team regular straight away. After striking that initial deal with Atalanta, Chelsea discussed what would be best to do next, given they want him to continue playing first-team football. A loan emerged as a preferred option.
Chelsea have since clarified that the negotiations with Atalanta were over a pre-agreement. It means he will join up with their squad next summer.
Simon Johnson
But he’s not staying at Atalanta — he’s joining Palace on loan? Do they need him?
Again, yes. Palace have a good relationship with Chelsea, and Ahanor will help bridge the gap left by Chadi Riad’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury that is expected to keep him out until at least late in the season.
The two Premier League clubs have done transfer business in previous windows and also this summer, with centre-back Maxence Lacroix swapping south London for west London in a £52million deal in July and then Disasi going the other way on loan a few weeks later.
As a left-footed centre-back, Ahanor will presumably take Riad’s place in the back three, even though he is only 18 and has fairly limited experience (35 games for Atalanta, with 18 starts; two full Italy caps this June) and minutes at senior level.
Chelsea have loaned defender Disasi to Palace for the season (Sebastian Frej/Getty Images)
This signing gives Palace five players to cover the three centre-back spots, but the question marks are over the overall quality of their options at the back and whether it’s enough to see them through the season.
They have conceded six goals in losing their opening two league games and new manager Pierre Sage wants to play a more attacking style than predecessor Oliver Glasner, meaning they are more likely to be open at the back and therefore need to ensure their defence is capable of withstanding that.
Matt Woosnam
Is this actually allowed?
These are being treated as two separate transactions by all three clubs. Atalanta have given permission for Ahanor to join Palace on loan for the rest of this season, and Chelsea have a deal in place with the Serie A side to complete his signing next year.
Quoting its handbook, the Premier League’s website states regarding loans between its member teams:
- “Under no circumstances shall more than one be from the same club at any one time.”
- “Premier League clubs cannot loan to another Premier League club a player they have acquired in the same transfer window.”
The Premier League and FIFA have both been contacted for comment on these moves.
It is not unusual for Chelsea to sign players then allow them to continue to turn out for the selling club. There was a pre-agreement in place with Palmeiras for Estevao Willian in June 2024 and he remained at the Brazilian side for another year. Goalkeeper Mike Penders was bought from Genk in that same window then also stayed with the Belgians until the following summer.
Granted, the Ahanor transaction is different because he has been loaned out to another club first, but the premise is much the same.
Simon Johnson and Liam Twomey
Why has this been done?
Clearly, it suits all parties. With Palace already bringing in Disasi from Chelsea, the Premier League rules listed above prevent them from taking anyone else on loan from Stamford Bridge. But Chelsea are not officially signing Ahanor until summer 2027, and Palace are borrowing him from Atalanta for the rest of this season.
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From the perspectives of Ahanor and Chelsea, it can help speed up his adaptation to playing under their manager Xabi Alonso come next season. Should he feature regularly for Palace in the months ahead, as hoped, the teenager will get used to the speed and physicality of the Premier League. He will also grow accustomed to living in a different country.
The Premier League clubs’ geographic proximity means there will be plenty of opportunities for Ahanor to stop by the Chelsea training ground in Cobham, just south of London, and/or for their personnel to check in with him at nearby Selhurst Park.
Simon Johnson, Liam Twomey
What sort of player is he?
Ahanor continues a recent trend of the brightest Italian youngsters moving to England earlier than ever before. He follows in the footsteps of Michael Kayode at Brentford, Liverpool’s Giovanni Leoni and his future Chelsea team-mate Marco Palestra.
Born in Belgium to Nigerian parents, Ahanor was raised in Genoa. Emerging from one of Italy’s best youth academies at Genoa, he became the first player born in 2008 to debut in Serie A when, at age 16, coach Alberto Gilardino selected him against Juventus in September 2024.
A combination of Genoa’s financial problems and Ahanor’s own precociousness meant Atalanta didn’t think twice about paying €16million (£13.7m/$18.6m at the current rates) for him last July on the back of only three first-team starts. Having arrived in Bergamo as a gangly full-back, Ivan Juric reinvented the 6ft (184cm) Ahanor as a centre-back. His springiness, versatility and body coordination mark him out as a special talent.
Italy may not create No 10s like the hall-of-fame players of the past but their youngsters keep winning the Under-17 European Championship, with this summer’s triumph making it two titles in three years. Talent isn’t lacking, and Ahanor shows it.
James Horncastle
