Chelsea Hijack Inter Attempt to Acquire Palestra Late | OneFootball

Just as Inter were getting ready to seal the deal for Marco Palestra, Chelsea muscled their way into the race by outbidding their foes, convincing the player to change his mind after he signaled he wanted to stay in Serie A, Fabrizio Romano informs (via SOSFanta).

The Nerazzurri met with his agent on Tuesday afternoon. However, they didn’t conclude the operation, and the Blues quickly started to gain momentum. The Scudetto holders upped their offer to €45M plus €5M add-ons, still a little shy of the demand.

Chelsea overtook Inter by tendering a €60M package, while Palestra waffled after being offered €5M wages, doubling what he would have earned at San Siro annually. The deal is quickly barreling toward its definitive conclusion.

According to Gianluca Di Marzio, the Premier League giants will pay €57M, plus €3M add-ons and 10 percent of a future sale. Newcastle United bid for the speedster too, but they didn’t make his waver. Instead, he told the Atalanta owner he was open to moving to Stamford Bridge once the formal offer arrived. The Nerazzurri will have to look elsewhere on the wing and could use the ammo for Nico Paz.

Our Take on Palestra, Chelsea, and Inter

Once again, La Dea officials prove to be master negotiators, and their stars are simply too expensive for Italian teams, even though it almost seemed done this time. Hopefully, he won’t get lost in the shuffle abroad. It’s a big blow for the champions, but the disbursement already exceeded their comfort zone, and it was more of a play on his potential than his current caliber. Plus, perhaps the savings will net them multiple quality contributors in a few different roles.