Chelsea beat Manchester City in race to sign Serie A Defender of the Year

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·24 Juni 2026

Chelsea beat Manchester City in race to sign Serie A Defender of the Year

Chelsea have moved at extraordinary pace to hijack Inter Milan’s advanced negotiations for Serie A’s breakout defensive sensation Marco Palestra.
The 21-year-old full-back has been earmarked to play a crucial role in Xabi Alonso’s rebuild at Stamford Bridge following Marc Cucurella’s high-profile departure.
Manchester City continue face an ongoing search for right-back reinforcement themselves and could turn to another of Chelsea’s existing names or a profile further afield.

Manchester City are set to lose out on one of their reported right-back targets, with Chelsea swooping in decisively to close in on the signing of Marco Palestra.

Sporting Director Hugo Viana has spent the early weeks of the summer window drawing up a shortlist of targets at right-back capable of executing the demanding principles required in Enzo Maresca’s expected system.

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One name consistently mentioned as part of that wish-list was Atalanta’s breakout prodigy Marco Palestra, who spent an award-winning domestic campaign rewriting his career trajectory away from Bergamo.

The 21-year-old dominated Italian headlines last season while operating on loan at Cagliari, and his blend of stamina and versatility culminated in him receiving Serie A’s Defender of the Year award from league officials.

While Manchester City viewed his qualities as a solution to their needs, their approach had left the door open for a ruthless Premier League rival to execute a late market hijack.

Chelsea close in on signing of Marco Palestra

Now, according to BBC Sport’s Nizaar Kinsella among others, Chelsea are set to sign Atalanta’s Marco Palestra for a fee in excess of £43 million, despite the Italian having been expected to join Inter Milan.

It is explained that after 24 hours of talks, the Stamford Bridge club have emerged as the 21-year-old’s preferred destination, with sources in Italy claiming the Serie A champions could not match Chelsea’s offer on personal terms.

What next in Man City’s right-back search?

For Manchester City, missing out on the highly-rated Italian star will force Hugo Viana to pivot to alternative options as Enzo Maresca looks to have the large bulk of transfer business finalised in time for pre-season in Asia.

Manchester City add two fixtures to 2026 pre-season tour of Asia

City are already navigating a complex summer market, managing reported interest from La Liga giants Real Madrid for centre-back Rúben Dias while also trying to tie down Rodri to a new contract.

With the late-August Premier League curtain-raiser against Bournemouth approaching, City must move with far greater urgency if they are to secure the reinforcement needed to challenge Arsenal once again for the top-flight crown.