Atalanta have submitted an offer for Udinese defender Thomas Thiesson Kristensen, 24, with the Bergamo club identifying him as their primary defensive target ahead of the 2026-27 Serie A season — ahead even of Jean-Clair Todibo in their order of preference.
The significance of that hierarchy is worth sitting with. Atalanta, rebuilding their backline after years shaped by Gian Piero Gasperini, are not a club that pursues defenders casually. That Kristensen ranks above Todibo in their thinking speaks to how the Danish centre-back's season at Udinese has been received beyond Friuli. Across 27 Serie A appearances under Kosta Runjaić, Kristensen contributed three goals and carried an average match rating of 7.00 — figures that, for a defender in a side that finished 10th with 50 points, represent consistent rather than merely occasional quality. Udinese conceded 47 goals across 37 matches, a respectable total for a mid-table outfit, and Kristensen was a fixture in the defensive structure throughout.
Udinese's position in any negotiation is not weak. The club has already demonstrated this summer that they can attract and beat elite opposition in pre-season, defeating both Barcelona and Nottingham Forest 1-0 apiece to win the Friuli Venezia Giulia Cup — results that signal genuine competitive intent for the coming campaign. Runjaić's side open the new Serie A season against Como, and the coaching staff will be reluctant to dismantle a defence that held shape through a demanding 37-match schedule.
Kristensen's AI overall rating of 71 out of 100, with a projected ceiling of 78, frames the transfer logic neatly: he is a player mid-development, already reliable at Serie A level, with room to grow into something more. For Atalanta, that profile — young, proven, improvable — fits the model of a club that has consistently bought defenders before the market fully prices them. For Udinese, it creates a braccio di ferro, a genuine arm-wrestle, with real leverage on both sides.
Nicolò Zaniolo, speaking after the pre-season cup victory, expressed hope that Olivier Solet would remain at the club, describing him as among the strongest defenders in Europe. The sentiment underlines how much Udinese value defensive continuity — and how complicated it becomes if Kristensen departs alongside any other key figure at the back.
The coming weeks will determine whether Udinese's resolve holds or whether Atalanta's offer reaches a number that changes the calculation. What is already clear is that Kristensen enters this transfer window as a wanted man, with a season's worth of evidence behind him.