Honest Ahanor: Why Italy are so keen to cap Atalanta's teenage defensive star as quickly as possible

Ahanor was born in Aversa, Campania, but because his parents both hail from Nigeria, he's not eligible for full Italian citizenship until he turns 18 on February 23. It's a ludicrous law that has, thus far, prevented Ahanor from representing the country in which he's spent his whole life. Fortunately, being denied international football at under-age level hasn't checked his progress whatsoever.

After moving to Genoa with his family when he was just one year old, Ahanor took his first steps towards the professional ranks with Progetto Atletico, a local football initiative, before being picked up by the Grifone when he was still only five.

It wasn't long before he was being talked about at the Luigi Ferraris as the most promising player Genoa had produced since Pietro Pellegri, who had made his Serie A debut at 15, and Ahanor's prodigious talent was certainly beyond dispute. During the 2023-24 season, for example, he lined out for Genoa's Under-17s, U18s and U19s, helping the U18s win the Italian title.

As a former Primavera coach, Alberto Gilardino was more than familiar with Ahanor's talent, and the former Italy international added the youngster to his senior squad at the start of the 2024-25 campaign. So, while Ahanor's debut six rounds into the season wasn't exactly a surprise, it was historic, as he became the first player born in 2008 to play in Serie A when he was picked on the left wing for Genoa's clash with Juventus.

"When the coach handed me the bib during the final training session, there were a lot of emotions," Ahanor admitted. "But then I was able to calm down thanks to the rest of the squad. On the pitch, I focused on having fun and being there for the team. But it was a unique feeling, wearing the jersey of the team you've represented since you were a child. These are strong emotions that I will never forget for the rest of my life and I will always be grateful to Mister Gilardino for allowing me to play for Genoa."

Ahanor made his second Serie A appearance as a second-half substitute against Parma on November 4, 2024, but suffered a serious knee injury just a couple of weeks later that ruled him out of action for five months.

"These were long months," he later admitted. "The emotions are always so many, sometimes not even all of them are decipherable. Sometimes I couldn't see far ahead. But in the end, what matters is the response you give in times of difficulty. I experienced every match as a fan in the stands, with desire and love to return to doing what I love with the jersey I love, and in the end I succeeded."

Indeed, upon returning to full fitness in April 2025, Ahanor went straight back into Gilardino's squad and featured four times for the first team before the close of the campaign. 

Having demonstrated he'd not been in any way adversely affected by his knee injury, Ahanor was a player in demand, with AC Milan, Roma, Monaco and, inevitably, Chelsea all linked with one of the most gifted young defenders in Europe. In the end, though, Ahanor rather understandably felt his development would be best served by a move to Atalanta, a club synonymous with improving players.

"Knowing that so many top teams were interested in me is a pleasure," Ahanor admitted, "but I had no hesitation in choosing Atalanta."

La Dea agreed to pay Genoa an initial €16 million, plus a potential €4m in bonuses, for a player who had made just six appearances at senior level. However, Atalanta CEO Luca Percassi was in no doubt that the Bergamaschi's famed recruitment team had made another bargain buy.

"He's a player we've known for many years and have followed for a long time, having even had the opportunity to play against him with our youth teams," Percassi explained. "He's a player who has always stood out for his great qualities on the pitch, and, getting to know him, he pleasantly surprised us with how he shows himself to be more mature than his age even off the pitch."

Then-coach Ivan Juric was just as impressed by Ahanor, and when Isak Hien was forced off injured just 27 minutes into Atalanta's Serie A clash with Torino on September 21, he turned to the 17-year-old. Ahanor gave an excellent account of himself in his side's 3-0 win and, coincidentally, made his first start for his new club against Juventus the following weekend.

Three days later, he got his first taste of Champions League football in the closing stages of Atalanta's loss to Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes before playing all 90 minutes of the matchday-two win over Club Brugge at the New Balance Arena.

Ahanor has featured regularly since then and another injury, this time to Sead Kolasinac on January 3, allowed him to lock down a starting spot under Juric's successor, Palladino, before Saturday's red card in Como.

It's obviously rare for a 17-year-old to be able to cope, physically and mentally, with the rigours of elite-level football, but Ahanor is already an awesome athlete, as strong as he is fast, while he also boasts an unusually high footballing IQ for one so young, which allows him to read the game wonderfully well.

However, what really stands out about him is technical ability. This is an imposing young man so comfortable on the ball that he's capable of not only playing at centre-back or left-back - but also on the wing.

All throughout his under-age career, he also demonstrated a keen eye for goal, and he's already opened his Atalanta account in a Coppa Italia win over his former club Genoa. What Palladino most likes about Ahanor, though, is his "attitude, his boldness, and his willingness to give 110 percent, to make the most of every opportunity he gets."

Unless he experiences a growth spurt, which is not beyond the realms of possibility given his age, Ahanor is not going to be the biggest of centre-backs (if that's where he ends up playing the majority of his football).

Consequently, the six-footer is going to have to get better in the air by improving the timing and technique of his jumping. It can be done, of course. The great Fabio Cannavaro was only 5'9" (1.76m) but excelled in aerial duels, while England international Marc Guehi is the same height as Ahanor and has just been snapped up by Manchester City. Of course, if he becomes a full-back or wing-back, he'll need to work on his attacking attributes, in particular his crossing.

For now, though, his primary goal should probably be learning when to step into midfield and when to stay deep, because his greatest strength could also become a weakness by leaving his fellow defenders exposed if he moves forward at inopportune times.

Comparisons have been made to Destiny Udogie, which is understandable, given Ahanor is, like the Tottenham full-back, quick, strong, excellent on the ball and of Nigerian extraction. However, Udogie is a lot more attack-minded and has never been utilised as a centre-back.

In that sense, Ahanor feels more similar to David Alaba, as he's just at home playing at the heart of the defence as he is on the left-hand side. Ahanor obviously has a long way to go before he can be properly compared to the Austria international, but they do have some shared attributes and it's hard not to think of Alaba when you watch the teenager switching so seamlessly between centre-back and left-back - much like his idol, Paolo Maldini.

Right now, Ahanor's focus is on regaining his place in Palladino's starting line-up after he serves his suspension for his sending off at Sinigaglia. Meanwhile, once he turns 18 in a matter of weeks, he'll finally be eligible for Italian citizenship, and while the country's bureaucratic processes are infamously slow, there is an outside chance that Ahanor could be called up by the Azzurri for next month's World Cup qualification play-off against Northern Ireland.

It's obviously highly unlikely that coach Gennarro Gattuso would hand Ahanor his first cap in such an important encounter, but the belief is that Italy are keen to at least welcome him into the squad in a desperate attempt to convince him to commit to the land of his birth rather than declare for his parents' homeland, Nigeria.

What's next, then, is unclear at this particular point in time, but what we do know is that Palladino is far from the only person who thinks Ahanor is a future champion.