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Marco Palestra Chelsea 2026Getty Images
Emanuele Tramacere
Translated by

No Italy and zero appearances, how Palestra is getting on at Chelsea

Italy
Chelsea
M. Palestra
Inter
Atalanta
Cagliari

The Italian winger’s journey in London did not get off to the best of starts.

The new Italy under Roberto Mancini officially began with the head coach's unveiling press conference at Coverciano. Several players were missing from the call-up list, including late withdrawals such as Federico Dimarco, but one of the most debated absences was Marco Palestra, who is still injured. The former Cagliari wide man has been one of the most talked-about names of the summer, but his adventure in a Chelsea shirt is struggling to take off.

  • The summer transfer

    Back at Atalanta after a year on loan at Cagliari, Palestra spent more than a month as Inter's top target in the transfer window, with the club never hiding the talks or their admiration for him.

    In the end, though, Chelsea moved late with a huge improved offer and secured the 2005-born player for a total fee of €60 million including bonuses and a six-year contract worth €5 million net per season.

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  • Huge hype and anticipation

    The size of the transfer fee, Inter's frustration and the story of another Italian in the Premier League inevitably sent the hype and anticipation around the right-back soaring and, from the very start under Xabi Alonso, he showed in the summer friendlies that he was up to the standard the Spanish coach demanded of him. He turned in solid displays against Tottenham, AC Milan and Juventus, suggesting he was set to start the season as the undisputed first choice.

  • The injury

    Everything was set for the official debut against Fulham on 24 August, but just a few days before kick-off the injury struck. Chelsea thought it was only a slight muscle strain but it has since forced Palestra to keep pushing back the day of an official debut that has never come.

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  • Still in the pits

    Although the Blues have not confirmed an injury, manager Xabi Alonso made it clear in a press conference that the Italian's lay-off is serious.

    At the pre-match press conference for the Carabao Cup game against Luton Town, the Spanish manager underlined that "For Palestra, we may perhaps have to look into the issue a little further."

  • Ready after the break

    Tests confirmed the injury, ruling him out for the whole of September. Chelsea have played seven official matches in that time and Palestra has featured in none of them.

    "The injury concerns the quadriceps. He is almost in the final stage of his recovery" Xabi Alonso said a few days ago. After missing the game against Brentford, he is now targeting the match against Bournemouth after the international break.