The signing of Marco Palestra has been made by Chelsea with new manager Xabi Alonso in mind, however one of his predaccesors would have known exactly how to utilise him best.
The Blues have hijacked the signing of Palestra from under the noses of Inter Milan, with the system associated with Alonso being taken in mind.
The Italian has specialised in playing as a wing-back, with the Spaniard keen to use a three-back formation during his treble-winning campaign at Bayer Leverkusen.
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Antonio Conte would have loved Marco Palestra in his Chelsea squad
It will be the first time a Blues manager has regularly utilised this system since Antonio Conte was in charge, when they were crowned champions of England in 2017.
It was Victor Moses who was deployed as a marauding wing-back at this time, with easy comparisons to be made between how the two of them play.
Conte didn’t stick to Moses for very long though. In the summer of 2017, Chelsea signed Davide Zappacosta, who quickly found himself a regular in the starting side.
The former Chelsea man’s abilities in attack were seen as a real strength by his manager at the time, and this will likely be the same for Palestra at Stamford Bridge under Alonso.
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It has already been claimed that Alonso will look to play Reece James as a midfielder to allow the 21-year-old an instant pathway into regular first team football.
The Malo Gusto situation is a little bit more complicated. While Chelsea are not pushing to sell him, they are open to offers as the likes of Manchester City circle around him.
The Blues have set a £75m price tag on him though, suggesting they are not overly keen on parting ways with the France international this summer.
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