Europa League champions Atalanta have officially announced the signing of left-footed defender Honest Ovonranwen Ahanor from Serie A rivals Genoa.
Ahanor becomes the club’s third addition of the summer transfer window, following the arrivals of Odilon Kossounou from Bayer Leverkusen and Kamaldeen Sulemana from Southampton.
The highly-rated teenager made history last season as the first player born in 2008 to feature in the Italian Serie A. He made his full debut for Genoa against Juventus on September 28 at just 16 years and 218 days old.
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Ahanor went on to make six appearances in the top flight, starting in three of them. He recorded his first goal involvement during Genoa’s 2-2 draw with Napoli at the Diego Maradona Stadium in May.
Atalanta confirmed that Ahanor is eligible to represent Nigeria internationally through his Nigerian parents. In a statement, the club said:
“Born on February 23, 2008 in Aversa to Nigerian parents, Honest joined Genoa’s youth sector when he was still a child.”
The 17-year-old is yet to represent Italy at any youth level, making him immediately eligible for the Super Eagles without requiring a change of national allegiance. He can also play for Nigeria’s youth teams, the Golden Eaglets, Flying Eagles, and the Olympic squad.
Ahanor joins fellow Nigerian international Ademola Lookman at Atalanta, though the forward is rumored to be considering a move away from the club before the transfer window closes.
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