Chelsea sign Atalanta's Palestra, Spurs step up Tonali pursuit

Tottenham have turned focus to their pursuit of Newcastle's Sandro Tonali after an agreement was reached with West Ham for the £85million transfer of Mateus Fernandes. Pic: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.

Chelsea have completed the signing of Atalanta defender Marco Palestra on a seven-year deal.

The 21-year-old, who has two international caps for Italy, moves to Stamford Bridge for a fee understood by the Press Association to be £47million, including add-ons.

He becomes the first signing since the appointment of new manager Xabi Alonso, who formally started work on Wednesday, as the process of remodelling the squad gathers pace following last season’s disappointing 10th-placed finish in the Premier League.

Reports in Italy suggested that the player was on the verge of joining Inter Milan before Chelsea swept in with a stronger offer and a more attractive wage deal.

Palestra told the club’s website: “A lot of things convinced me to join Chelsea, one of the best clubs in the world.

“We have so many talented players here, a very strong squad and manager in Xabi.

“He has spoken to me about how he wants us to play, which is exciting, and we can’t wait to compete in the Premier League.” 

Palestra made his senior debut for Atalanta in December 2023 before impressing on loan at Cagliari last season where he was named Serie A’s defender of the season.

He made his international debut during Italy’s unsuccessful World Cup qualifying play-offs.

Alonso looks set to have a much changed defence to work with following the debacle of last season. 

Marc Cucurella has already departed for Real Madrid while it is understood the club are considering making a bid for Crystal Palace centre-back Maxence Lacroix to add to Palestra’s signing.

Full-back Malo Gusto, currently playing alongside Lacroix for France at the World Cup, looks set to depart with Manchester City among the clubs showing interest. It is understood Chelsea would want £75m for the former Lyon player.

An £8m bid for Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka has been rejected, with the club looking to offset the possible departure of Enzo Fernandez, who informed the hierarchy in May that he wants to leave. Chelsea will listen to offers of £120m for the Argentina international.

Meanwhile, Tottenham have turned focus to their pursuit of Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali after an agreement was reached with West Ham for the £85million transfer of Mateus Fernandes.

Fernandes is set to complete a medical at Spurs’ Hotspur Way training ground on Wednesday after they won the race to sign the 21-year-old ahead of Manchester United on Tuesday evening.

A club-record package worth a guaranteed £85m has secured the services of Fernandes and signing number six could quickly follow with Tottenham eager wrap up another key target in Italy international Tonali, who is high on the summer wish-list of Roberto De Zerbi.

Head coach De Zerbi masterminded Premier League safety for Spurs on the final day of the 2025-26 season and has since been heavily backed in the transfer window by majority owners the Lewis family.

With Martin Dubravka, Andrew Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke confirmed, and Fernandes expected to be announced imminently, negotiations between Tottenham and Newcastle have stepped up.

Spurs are eager to land Tonali to help revamp the club’s midfield, but reports that Archie Gray could go in the other direction to St James’ Park are wide of the mark, it is understood.

Gray has made 81 appearances since he joined Tottenham from Leeds two years ago and was one of the better performers last term across 27 starts.

Elsewhere, Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior has completed a £14.6million move to Porto.

The 26-year-old spent last season on loan with Porto and played 36 times across all competitions as the Portuguese side secured a domestic title.

Porto have exercised an option to keep Kiwior on a permanent deal from Arsenal with a possible £4.3m in add-ons.

Kiwior made the move to north London for £17.3m from Italian side Spezia in January 2023, and went on to play 63 games for the Gunners.