Having arrived at Atalanta this summer, Honest Ahanor has made a very convincing start with La Dea. Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea are ready to splash the cash in the transfer market for the 17-year-old centre-back.
Signed by Atalanta for €20m (£17.6m) including bonuses from Genoa, Honest Ahanor was seen as a fine prospect for the future. After just six matches with the Rossoblu, the 17-year-old centre-back convinced La Dea's hierarchy to take a punt on him. The gamble is paying off so far, as Honest Ahanor is gradually finding his place in the rotation set up by Raffaele Palladino.
Chelsea fall for Italian gem valued at €60m (£52.7m)
Honest Ahanor is being tipped as one of the best defenders in the world in the making. Since the start of the season, he has played 13 matches, including eight as a starter. According to information gathered by Caught Offside, Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid are all admirers of Honest Ahanor's profile. The British outlet claims that, at present, the Blues are the most determined to wrap up this transfer.
But to secure Honest Ahanor's services, clubs will have to meet Atalanta's demands, having already invested heavily for such a young player. A fee of €60m (£53m) has been mentioned. Among the other interested clubs, Arsenal have been named, along with Bayern Munich and Napoli in Serie A. But it is Chelsea who appear to be leading the race and could win this tug-of-war with their European rivals.
BlueCo's strategy in action
Since Chelsea's takeover by BlueCo, the English club's strategy has been to invest in young players with high potential and develop them to establish dominance in the years to come.
Obviously, not every move works out, but the Blues prefer to multiply their purchases of young prodigies to prevent a rival from snapping up a generational talent. With Honest Ahanor, Chelsea may have found the future best defender in the world.
This article was originally published on Top Mercato.
