Chelsea are closing in on a deal to sign Atalanta wonderkid Marco Palestra in a deal that will cost north of £50m this summer, but he wasn’t Xabi Alonso’s first choice.
Alonso’s first signing as Chelsea manager looks like it will be the defender voted the best in Serie A last season. Palestra, 21, spent the 2025-26 season on loan at Cagliari from Atalanta, earning the accolade.
Naturally a right-back but able to play anywhere in defence, Palestra is certainly one of Italy’s hottest talents and has even earned two caps for his country of late. Inter Milan were set to sign Palestra.
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These are the FOUR areas the club have identified for this summer…
- Goalkeeper
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There were suggestions that Chelsea’s initial interest in Palestra was going to go nowhere, with the defender keen to remain in Italy. But Chelsea have blown Inter out of the water with a bigger offer.
However, Chelsea’s decision to intensify their interest in Palestra only came after the Blues did not hear back from Roma regarding Brazil’s World Cup defender Wesley. Fabrizio Romano has more, below.
Chelsea wanted Roma’s Wesley before Marco Palestra
According to Romano, Chelsea had asked Roma about Wesley. The right-back was with Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil World Cup squad but suffered an injury in a warm-up match, and Ancelotti had to replace him.
The Italian journalist claims that Chelsea did not receive a reply from Roma regarding Wesley, and that saw Chelsea move on to Palestra instead. Clearly, Alonso wanted Chelsea to sign a right-back and quickly.
“In recent days, Chelsea asked for information on another player in our league [Serie A] who can play on the right and possibly also on the left. Namely, Roma full-back Wesley,” Romano said on Tuesday night.
“From what I understand, Roma’s position is that they don’t want to sell Wesley. In the Wesley case, Chelsea received negative feedback. Roma has put up a wall; Gasperini considers him a key player.”
Marco Palestra v Wesley: Who suits Chelsea and Alonso better?
With Chelsea pursuing a right-sided defender, it suggests Malo Gusto is going to leave Chelsea this summer. Man City and Chelsea have agreed a compensation fee for Enzo Maresca, worth around £17m.
That means Maresca will now be announced as Pep Guardiola’s replacement, and reports say Maresca wants Gusto at The Etihad. The interest in both Wesley and Palestra suggests that move is on the cards.
START, BENCH, SELL: Marc Cucurella, Reece James and Malo Gusto
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So, of Palestra and Wesley, who suits Chelsea better in terms of replacing Gusto? Wesley is immense going forward, explosive in his speed and arguably, the better option if Chelsea play with wing-backs.
But if Chelsea need a replacement for Gusto, Palestra is the man. Equally good going forward – having a hand in five Serie A goals last season – as he is in defence; 55 tackles, 116 recoveries, high duel win rate.
Palestra is also very adept at coming into midfield with the ball and playing as an inverted full-back, completing 85% of his passes for Cagliari last term. Palestra is the better replacement for Gusto.
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