Palestra reflects on ‘wonderful’ start to Chelsea career

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Marco Palestra has expressed his delight after enjoying a “wonderful” start to life with Chelsea.

The 21-year-old joined the Blues this summer for a reported £47m (€54.9m) fee, including add-ons, from Atalanta and signed a seven-year deal at Stamford Bridge.

Palestra featured just nine times for Atalanta in Serie A, though he made 37 top-flight appearances while on loan at Cagliari last season, scoring one goal and providing four assists from right-back.

The Italian will be looking to help Xabi Alonso and Chelsea thrive in 2026-27 after they finished 10th in the Premier League last season, having parted ways with both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior, while Calum McFarlane had two stints as their interim head coach. 

Palestra has already featured three times in pre-season and is excited to get started in the Premier League later this month.

“It’s a wonderful world, because the intensity and physicality are so high,” Palestra told Sky Sport Italia.

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 6, 2026

“I have to thank my team-mates, the staff and coach, as they’ve been helping me from the first day with everything both on the field and off it. The organisation has been perfect.

“I’m happy, I can’t wait to start playing in the Premier League, as it’s so exciting. I know every game there is exciting, whether it’s against a big club or not.

“I can’t wait to get started, it’s wonderful.”

Chelsea’s Premier League campaign begins on August 24, when they take on local rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Alonso’s side still have three pre-season games before their league opener, with the Blues’ next test coming against AC Milan on Saturday.

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