Official: Chelsea complete Marco Palestra signing

Updated: 1 Jul 2026 14:29 BST | 4 min read

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

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Chelsea have officially confirmed the signing of Atalanta full-back Marco Palestra.

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The Italy international joins the Blues off the back of a very impressive season on loan at Cagliari, which saw him win Serie A's Defender of the Year award. A versatile full-back who can operate on both flanks, Palestra is a physical presence and loves to get forward.

Heading into the summer, it was clear that Palestra would be sold by parent club Atalanta, although his destination initially appeared to be his hometown of Milan. Inter, where the 21-year-old had previously spent time in the academy, were determined to re-sign him.

Current ETV

Marco Palestra

D, M (R)

Chelsea

Marco Palestra

D, M (R)

Chelsea

ETV Range

€11.3M - €13.8M

However, the two clubs were unable to reach an agreement as the Nerazzurri were unwilling to match Atalanta's asking price of more than €50 million. This ultimately allowed Chelsea to swoop in.

The Blues moved quickly to agree a €55m package with La Dea, while they also offered Palestra a lucrative contract in order to convince him to snub Inter. Chelsea have now officially announced the capture of one of Italy's most exciting talents.

Chelsea sign Palestra

The Blues have disclosed that Palestra has signed a whopping seven-year contract until 2033, in line with the deals they have been handing out to signings in recent years. The right-back is the first signing made by new manager Xabi Alonso.

"A lot of things convinced me to join Chelsea, one of the best clubs in the world," Palestra is quoted as saying. "I’m very excited to get started. I’ve felt the energy since the first day Chelsea wanted me. I can’t wait to start, see all the fans, my team-mates and the manager.

"We have so many talented players here, a very strong squad and manager in Xabi. He has spoken to me about how he wants us to play, which is exciting, and we can’t wait to compete in the Premier League."

Palestra is a hugely promising signing for Chelsea. Serie A expert Carlo Garganese recently told FootballTransfers: “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.

“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.

“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.”

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