“He seems like a player built on the PlayStation,” Cagliari head coach Fabio Pisacane told Sky in Italy recently. “Ninety-nine per cent acceleration and so on. He is handsome even when he runs. He looks like a panther, like a leopard.” That man is Marco Palestra.
Cesc Fabregas is an admirer. The great Arrigo Sacchi pushed for his call-up for the Italy national team. Gennaro Gattuso duly obliged. Luciano Spalletti did once get his name wrong but he had still heard all about this rare talent who was emerging at Atalanta.
That name, Palestra, means gym in Italian so perhaps it should be no surprise that the 21-year-old wide player has been identified to bring the athleticism that Xabi Alonso wants to see on the flanks at Chelsea. But there is much more to the signing than that.
Palestra is versatile, capable of playing on either flank, as a full-back or as a wing-back. He can cross with both feet and beat an opponent too. Only Juventus favourite Kenan Yildiz completed more take-ons than the young Italy international in Serie A last season.
Palestra ranked second in Serie A for completed take-ons in the 2025/26 season
After enjoying a taste of the Champions League under Gian Piero Gasperini at Atalanta, Palestra’s loan move to Cagliari was just what was required. It is not always easy for young players to get regular minutes in Italy but Palestra has just played and played.
“He pulled the cart, as they say, for seven or eight months, all in one breath,” explained Pisacane. “National team, everything.” He started on the opening weekend. “In front of 70,000 people in Naples.” And showed what he could do next time out against Parma.
“He did that famous slalom run, which started from the back, and then allowed us to score to make it 2-0.” There followed an assist for Andrea Belotti in beating Lecce in the next game and Palestra never looked back. “From there on in, Marco played all the way.”
He was on the last line of defence when setting up that goal at Lecce and even started in the front three on occasions at Cagliari. But his most frequent position was as right wing-back in Pisacane’s 3-5-2, a formation also used by Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen.
Sky Sports pundit Jay Bothroyd gives his take on Palestra
Palestra is young enough and flexible enough to be used in various systems, however. Francesco Modesto, his coach in Atalanta’s development team for a season in Serie C, points to his ability to run with the ball with both feet as a quality that sets him apart.
“He has a dribbling ability few have. A right-footed player carrying the ball with his left means you never understand which way he can go. He knows how to cross with both his left and right.” Palestra ranked ninth in Serie A for successful crosses from open play.
Palestra’s crossing was a feature of his game during his loan at Cagliari
He also ranked third for most corners won, further evidence of his ability to get forward. That will be an essential part of his role at Chelsea, in a back four or a back five. Cagliari were a bottom-half team in terms of points and possession. It will be an adjustment.
But the expectation among those who have worked with him is that he is ideally suited to making that adjustment. Modesto is on record as having suggested the Premier League could be a good fit for this talents. “Because of the physicality that he has.”
It was not always a strength – Palestra himself claims he was once slow – but a growth spurt in his mid-teens transformed his physical capacity. There was interest from Bournemouth last summer because they believed he would fit their high-tempo game.
Palestra’s touch map for Atalanta in the Champions League in 2024/25
The scouts from around Europe who were regular visitors to Sardinia over the past year will have noted a habit of standing out against stronger opposition. Even at Atalanta, he came on against Real Madrid in the Super Cup and earned a Champions League start.
He was one of the few to emerge with credit as Italy were eliminated from the World Cup in that play-off defeat to Bosnia-Herzegovina in March and is regarded as the future of the national team. His dribbling ability alone seen as evidence of what Italian football is missing.
There is praise for his mentality too, a strong support network. “Qualities not only technical and tactical, but a boy who has a good head on his shoulders, has a family that helps him a lot, serious people.” And the conviction that there is more to come.
“Marco, in my opinion, has not shown all his potential yet,” Pisacane told Sky. “Marco has shown, I don’t want to exaggerate, 60 to 70 per cent.” If Alonso and Chelsea can help to unlock the rest then Palestra, this PlayStation footballer, could be the real deal.
