Lookman welcomes young star Ahanor as Atalanta’s Nigerian connection grows

Femi Fabunmi

Nigerian left-footed defender, Honest Ovonranwen Ahanor, has joined Italian club Atalanta, where he will play alongside Ademola Lookman.

The club announced his signing on Friday, confirming that he was born to Nigerian parents. Atalanta signed him from another Serie A team, Genoa.

This makes him their third signing of the summer after bringing in Odilon Kossounou from Bayer Leverkusen and Kamaldeen Sulemana from Southampton.

Last season, Ahanor became the first player born in 2008 to play in the Italian Serie A. He was just 16 years old when he made his debut for Genoa against Juventus and went on to play six matches in the league.

Atalanta confirmed on their website that he is eligible to play for Nigeria through his parents. They wrote, “Born on February 23, 2008 in Aversa to Nigerian parents, Honest joined Genoa’s youth sector when he was still a child.”

He has not played for Italy at any level yet, which means Nigeria can easily invite him to join the Super Eagles in the future.