{"id":49269,"date":"2026-06-27T02:49:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T06:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/27\/they-kept-calling-me-chelsea-close-in-on-43m-move-after-months-of-scouting\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T02:49:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T06:49:13","slug":"they-kept-calling-me-chelsea-close-in-on-43m-move-after-months-of-scouting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/27\/they-kept-calling-me-chelsea-close-in-on-43m-move-after-months-of-scouting\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;They kept calling me&#8217;: Chelsea close in on \u00a343m move after months of scouting"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/27\/they-kept-calling-me-chelsea-close-in-on-43m-move-after-months-of-scouting\/#Chelsea_have_had_their_eye_on_Marco_Palestra_for_some_time\" >Chelsea have had their eye on Marco Palestra for some time<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/27\/they-kept-calling-me-chelsea-close-in-on-43m-move-after-months-of-scouting\/#Palestra_could_be_an_asset_to_the_Blues\" >Palestra could be an asset to the Blues<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Xabi Alonso as Real Madrid manager (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>Chelsea are currently close to signing Marco Palestra from Atalanta.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The 21-year-old right-back was on loan at Cagliari last season and impressed the Italian club with regular performances. He scored one goal and provided four assists in Serie A.<\/p>\n<p><b>Download the official CaughtOffSide app to get all the latest news and updates straight to your phone. above <\/b><b><u><span draggable=\"true\">apple<\/span><\/u><\/b><b>    &#038; <\/b><b><u><span draggable=\"true\">Google play<\/span><\/u><\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Chelsea_have_had_their_eye_on_Marco_Palestra_for_some_time\"><\/span>Chelsea have had their eye on Marco Palestra for some time<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">Former Cagliari sporting director Guido Angelozzi says Chelsea have been tracking the talented young defender for some time and have made continuous inquiries about the player over the past year.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Chelsea and Manchester City were following him for a year. They were always at the stadium, at Cagliari and away,&#8221; he told Sports Media Set.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They kept calling me. They wanted to know everything. Obviously, they already had all the data, but they were looking for information about the boy&#8217;s character and qualities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\">The Palestra is highly regarded across Europe and could be a quality long-term investment for Chelsea. They have Reece James and Maro Gusto at their disposal, although Gusto is rumored to be leaving the club this summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The arrival of the Italian defender will certainly push the French player down the pecking order. It appears to be only a matter of time before the defender leaves the club. He has been linked with Manchester City in recent weeks. He is expected to reunite with former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Want more catchoffside coverage? Add us <\/i><\/b><b><i><span draggable=\"true\">Google recommended sources<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><i>    Add trusted news to your favorites list.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Palestra_could_be_an_asset_to_the_Blues\"><\/span>Palestra could be an asset to the Blues<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">Meanwhile, Palestra is hoping to establish himself as a key player for Chelsea in the coming seasons. It remains to be seen whether he can compete with James to keep him out of the starting lineup.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Regular first-team football is crucial for his development. The young defender will not want to sit on the bench at Chelsea. It remains to be seen whether they will be able to provide him with the opportunities he needs and help him reach his potential.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">According to reports, Chelsea are expected to pay around \u00a343 million to finalize the deal. It remains to be seen whether the 21-year-old can justify the investment in his future.<\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Xabi Alonso as Real Madrid manager (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce\/Getty Images) Chelsea are currently close to signing Marco Palestra from Atalanta. The 21-year-old right-back was on loan at Cagliari last season and impressed the Italian club with regular performances. He scored one goal and provided four assists in Serie A. Download the official [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":["post-49269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-football"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}