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Chelsea have reached a verbal agreement to send Honest Ahanor to Crystal Palace on a season-long loan. The Blues will allow the 18-year-old to spend a season on loan with the Eagles before he joins them officially next summer, according to transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano. Chelsea reached an agreement with Atalanta for the transfer of the young defender for £40 million, and he has already undergone medical tests in London. Versatile defender Ahanor will officially remain on the books of the Serie A side as his move to Chelsea is a deferred transfer for the 2027-28 season. The agreement between the clubs means that the Blues have control over the future of the youngster, and have arranged for him to move to Palace. Under the guidance of Pierre Sage in South London, Ahanor will be expected to gain crucial Premier League experience ahead of officially joining Chelsea. He is expected to undergo a medical for his move to Palace on Monday. The Blues have opted for this step to ensure that the teenager is ready to play for them next summer. Ahanor will be joining a side that is in the UEFA Europa League, ensuring that there are a good number of minutes available for him to play. Palace lost their first-choice left-sided centre-back Chadi Riad to injury last week, and will have Ahanor compete with Takehiro Tomiyasu for an XI spot. Chelsea’s arrangement for Ahanor with the Eagles is similar to the ones they had for youngster Geovany Quenda last season and Mike Penders the season before. They avoid taking up loan spots with these players by effectively completing their signing a year before they are actually needed. This allows the Blues to dictate how they spend their year while they officially remain on the books of their previous club.