Chelsea are on the verge of signing Marco Palestra from Atalanta after the two clubs reached an agreement in excess of £43million earlier this week
11:06, 26 Jun 2026
Xabi Alonso
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MADRID, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 01: Xabi Alonso, Head Coach of Real Madrid, looks on prior to the LaLiga EA Sports match between Real Madrid CF and Valencia CF at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on November 01, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)(Image: Denis Doyle)
Marco Palestra is in the UK today to complete a move to Chelsea after the west Londoners reached an agreement in excess of £43million to sign the defender.
The Blues hijacked Inter Milan's move for the sought-after 21-year-old defender after watching his development closely last season. Xabi Alonso pushed for Chelsea to make a move, with the incoming manager said to be a big fan of the Italy international's talents.
Palestra is now in London to finalise the transfer, with the Italian set to become the first signing (not including pre-agreed deals) of the Alonso era at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are set to officially confirm the signing of Palestra from Atalanta on a long-term contract in the coming days.
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Now, it has emerged that Chelsea were all over Palestra during his loan spell with Cagliari. The Italian club's sporting director Guido Angelozzi, speaking to Corriere dello Sport, has revealed he was on the receiving end of "non-stop" phone calls about the defender.
Angelozzi said: "Chelsea had been following him for a year, they were always at the stadium, in Cagliari and away. They kept calling me non-stop, they wanted to know everything. The data obviously they already had, but they were looking for insights on the boy's character and qualities."
Marco Palestra
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Marco Palestra is finalising a move to Chelsea(Image: Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto)
Chelsea are not done there, either. The Blues are working on a deal to sign Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace, with sources telling football.london that the west Londoners opened club-to-club talks with the Eagles earlier this week regarding the defender.
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Jacobo Ramon is also on the club's list of central defender targets but Lacroix is the number one priority for Chelsea at the time of writing.