Updated: 29 Jun 2026 14:02 BST |
6 min read
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Chelsea are on the verge of formally announcing the arrival of Atalanta star Marco Palestra as the first signing of the Xabi Alonso era.
Geovany Quenda, Emmanuel Emegha, Dastan Satpaev and Denner have all moved to Stamford Bridge this summer too, but those deals were pre-agreed long before the appointment of Alonso and Palestra will therefore be the first new signing endorsed by the Blues boss.
The Italy international, who has two senior caps for his country, enjoyed an excellent loan spell at Cagliari last season, registering five goal contributions in 37 games, and it’s reported that he will join Chelsea for an initial transfer fee of €55 million.
Rumours have hinted that Malo Gusto could be sold to Manchester City in order to make room for Palestra, although the Italian defender is also capable of playing on the left flank, despite the fact he is naturally a right-back, and the pair could therefore work in conjunction.
Alonso has been tipped to switch between a back-four and a back-five system at Chelsea next season and Palestra is certainly well-suited to the latter, having starred for Cagliari in a right wing-back role last term.
The 21-year-old may be an unknown name to most Chelsea fans, but he is widely regarded as an elite talent and there is significant hope that he will be ready to contribute for the Blues from the get-go, without the need for a large adaptation period.
Atalanta have a history of producing excellent defenders through their academy, with Alessandro Bastoni, Giorgio Scalvini and Matteo Ruggeri three recent examples, and Palestra is the latest wonderkid to leave the club for one of the biggest teams in Europe.
So, what can Chelsea fans expect from the Italian?
Why have Chelsea signed Marco Palestra?
Speaking exclusively to FootballTransfers, Italian football expert Carlo Garganese revealed: “Palestra is a really exciting player. Along with Federico Dimarco, he was probably the best Italian player in Serie A last season.
“He’s a right wing-back, but he can play as a left wing-back as well and that’s where he started his career. He’s a very attacking wing-back, he’s lightning fast and he’s a great dribbler – he had the second-most successful dribbles in Serie A last season.
“He can go right and left, he’s a little bit unorthodox in that sense as he can use either feet, which means he can go inside and outside. He is very aggressive and fearless. When Italy lost to Bosnia in the World Cup qualifiers, he was probably the only one who came out of that game with any credit. He came on as a substitute and that really summed up the insanity of not starting someone as exciting and young as he is.”
Garganese continued: “He’s a physical guy and he’s well-built despite his age. He’s quite raw, but I think from a physical point of view, he’s quite well-suited to the Premier League.
“Inter nearly had him in the bag, but there were also a lot of links to Man City and I think Newcastle. His numbers from a data point of view are very impressive and obviously that’s something everyone looks at.
“When he was in Atalanta’s youth teams, he was always the guy that people said ‘this is the next big star that’s coming out of Atalanta.’ They were saying that two or three years ago when he wasn’t even playing for them.”
All the composure in the world from Marco Palestra 🥶#FiorentinaCagliari pic.twitter.com/XQarhOsZLr
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) January 25, 2026
Palestra only has 53 senior games under his belt, but his raw attributes suggest that he could be a perfect fit for the Premier League, and Alonso is understood to have played a pivotal role in the transfer.
“I think it’s an exciting signing but there are some questions how much will he play, where he will play, and what system will Alonso play? He played as a wing-back in a 3-5-2 system last year, rather than as a full back in a back four,” Garganese said.
“But from what I’ve heard Alonso personally called him up and that’s what convinced him to join. He’d given his word to Inter, he’d told Inter ‘I’ll join you, I don’t care what Premier League clubs come in.’
“But, I think what turned it around was not just the fact that Chelsea offered an extra €10m on the transfer fee and double the wages, but that Alonso actually rang him personally and told him ‘I like you. This is where I want you to play and this is where I see your future at Chelsea.’
“I think that won him over and I think that proves this is an Alonso transfer and not just Chelsea being Chelsea and spending loads of money on a youngster who hasn’t actually played that much.”
Palestra is currently in London to undergo a medical and it’s expected that he will formally be unveiled as Chelsea’s latest big-money signing before the end of the week, with the Italian set to be involved from the very start of pre-season as Alonso looks to oversee a major improvement at Stamford Bridge after an extremely disappointing 10th-placed finish last season.
Jeremie Frimpong was an instrumental part of Alonso’s system at Bayer Leverkusen, registering 40 goal contributions from a right wing-back berth during his two full seasons under the Spaniard, and Palestra could play a similar role in west London next campaign.
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