Honest Ovonranwen Ahanor, a young Nigerian defender, has officially signed with top Italian club Atalanta, joining fellow Nigerian star Ademola Lookman at the Serie A side.

Atalanta made the announcement on Friday, confirming that Ahanor was born to Nigerian parents, making him eligible to represent Nigeria at the international level.

Ahanor was signed from Genoa, another Serie A team. This transfer marks Atalanta’s third signing of the summer transfer window.

Before bringing in Ahanor, Atalanta had already completed the signings of Odilon Kossounou from Bayer Leverkusen and Kamaldeen Sulemana from Southampton.

The 16-year-old made history last season by becoming the first player born in 2008 to play in Italy’s top-flight football league.

He made his Serie A debut for Genoa against Juventus, and by the end of the season, he had featured in six matches in the Italian league.

Atalanta highlighted in their statement that Ahanor can play for Nigeria due to his Nigerian background. This increases the chances of him being called up by the Super Eagles in the future.

In a statement on their website, the club wrote: “Born on February 23, 2008 in Aversa to Nigerian parents, Honest joined Genoa’s youth sector when he was still a child.”

Interestingly, Ahanor has never played for any of Italy’s youth national teams, which means Nigeria could easily secure his commitment to the national team.