![\"Marco](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-23-at-12.45.37.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old is seen as one of Europe\u2019s most promising players. Gabriele Maltinti\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
June 23, 2026 Updated 3:29 pm EDT<\/p>\n
Chelsea\u2019s move for Atalanta defender Marco Palestra is advancing at a rapid pace with the two clubs expected to reach an agreement within the next 24 hours.<\/p>\n
The Italy international, who has also been of interest to Inter Milan, is heavily leaning towards Chelsea if a deal between the clubs can be found.<\/p>\n
Palestra is a wing back who can play both sides and centrally, with his versatility making him a good fit for new manager Xabi Alonso\u2019s system.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old spent last season on loan from Atalanta at Cagliari, making 37 appearances and was named Serie A defender of the year.<\/p>\n
He has two caps for his country, having made his international debut in March of this year.<\/p>\n
Palestra made his senior debut for Atalanta in December 2023 and has gone on to make 16 appearances for the first team.<\/p>\n
Chelsea getting one of Italy\u2019s brightest talents<\/p>\n
Analysis by Italian football writer James Horncastle<\/p>\n
For all the doom and gloom about the national team, Italy continues to produce talent that appeals to the Premier League\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n
Palestra was a revelation on loan from Atalanta at Cagliari this season. He is tall and well-built but what stands out most is his speed.<\/p>\n
The defender is a powerhouse and earned his first Italy caps this season.<\/p>\n
As with Giovanni Leoni, the centre-back who left Parma for Liverpool last summer, players who once would have gone to one of Italy\u2019s big three are being lured to the Premier League earlier.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jun 23, 2026<\/p>\n
Connections: Sports Edition<\/p>\n
Spot the pattern. Connect the terms<\/p>\n
Find the hidden link between sports terms<\/p>\n
Play today’s puzzle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 21-year-old is seen as one of Europe\u2019s most promising players. Gabriele Maltinti\/Getty Images June 23, 2026 Updated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":721756,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[464,171232,6801,1084,34640,403,99],"class_list":["post-721755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-chelsea","tag-fc-internazionale-milano","tag-italy","tag-premier-league","tag-serie-a","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=721755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/721756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=721755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=721755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=721755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}