Teenager Honest Ahanor is set to join English football club Chelsea next season, but he will play the rest of the current campaign on loan at Crystal Palace. The deal, reportedly worth up to £40 million, involves Ahanor moving to Chelsea in the summer of 2027. However, he will remain at Crystal Palace for the 2026-27 season before officially becoming a Chelsea player. Ahanor expressed his excitement about joining Palace, saying, "I'm very happy to be here and to be a part of this great family," according to the club's official website. He added, "To be at one of the best clubs for young players in the Premier League is something which makes me grateful and excited." Chelsea's interest in Ahanor began earlier this year when they signed right-back Marco Palestra from Italian club Atalanta. The agreement allows Ahanor to stay with Crystal Palace for the upcoming season, a move that follows Chelsea's recent £52 million signing of center-back Maxence Lacroix from their London rivals, Arsenal. Additionally, Chelsea has loaned defender Axel Disasi to Palace for a £3 million fee. This arrangement is notable as it involves a player being purchased in 2027 but loaned to another club in the meantime, a tactic that avoids Premier League rules restricting such transfers. Under Premier League regulations, clubs are generally limited to loaning only one player to another team in the same division. However, this deal works around that rule by having the player's purchase happen in 2027, allowing him to be loaned out in the meantime. This is not the first time Chelsea has been linked with such strategies. The club has previously faced scrutiny for using legal loopholes, including selling properties and restructuring their women's team to comply with financial regulations. After the club's American owners took over in 2022, they also issued unusually long contracts to players, which allowed transfer fees to be spread over more seasons. In response, the relevant rules were later updated. Ahanor, who plays primarily as a left-back, joined Atalanta from Genoa last summer in a deal reportedly worth 16 million euros, with an additional 4 million euros in add-ons. He made 28 appearances in Serie A for Atalanta last season, becoming a regular starter. He also made his Champions League debut in a 2-1 victory against Club Brugge in September. In May, he was called up to the Italian national team for friendly matches against Luxembourg and Greece. Meanwhile, Chelsea striker Marc Guiu has moved to Bundesliga side RB Leipzig in a £14.6 million deal, including add-ons. Guiu, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona in July 2024, made 29 first-team appearances for the Blues, scoring eight goals.