Crystal Palace in talks to hijack Chelsea's transfer for £40m defender

18-year-old Ahanor Honest already has two caps for Italy (Photo: Getty)

Crystal Palace are in talks to sign Atalanta defender Honest Ahanor ahead of Chelsea before transfer deadline day.

Chelsea opened talks to sign the highly-rated teenager last week, having already bought one player from Atalanta, Marco Palestra , earlier this summer.

According to reports, a £40million deal and personal terms was quickly agreed, with Ahanor to head to London for his medical.

The only question mark was whether Xabi Alonso planned to integrate the centre-back, who can also play left-back or even on the wing, in his first-team or loan him elsewhere for the 2026/27 season.

But in a surprise twist, Premier League rivals Palace have swooped in and are now negotiating with the Serie A club to bring Ahanor to Selhurst Park on loan.

According to Sky Sports , talks are still at a preliminary stage and it is entirely possible that Chelsea agree to bring the 18-year-old to west London next summer.

There is no chance of Palace loaning the Italy international from Chelsea as they are not permitted to sign more than one player on loan from the same club and they already have Axel Disasi on a short-term deal from Stamford Bridge.

Crystal Palace already have Axel Disasi on loan from Chelsea (Photo: Getty)

Signing a centre-back is a much more urgent priority for the Eagles than it is for the Blues, with Pierre Sage’s side facing the rigours of Europa League football this season.

Palace sold star defender Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea earlier this window, signing Disasi and former Arsenal star Takehiro Tomiyasu to replace him.

That should have given Sage enough cover in defence, only for Chadi Riad to suffer a knee injury in the opening day loss at Everton, and the Moroccan is now expected to miss the vast majority of the campaign.

Chadi Riad suffered a season-ending injury on the opening day (Photo: Getty)

Both Palace and Chelsea are also dealing with the possibility of losing star players before Tuesday’s deadline, with Enzo Fernandez, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr facing uncertain futures.

The Eagles have lost their first two matches under Sage and will travel across London to Fulham on Saturday.

The Blues have made a flying start under Alonso, winning their first three games in all competitions but face a tricky test against title favourites Arsenal on Sunday.