In a shock turnaround, Italian sources claim Marco Palestra has agreed to join Chelsea, who blew Inter away with more than double their wage offer and €55m plus bonuses to Atalanta.The player had seemingly been on the verge of making his move to San Siro this summer after an impressive spell on loan with Cagliari.Chelsea swoop in for PalestraCAGLIARI, ITALY – JANUARY 02: Marco Palestra of Cagliari looks on before the Serie A match between Cagliari Calcio and AC Milan at Stadio Sant’Elia on January 02, 2026 in Cagliari, Italy. (Photo by Enrico Locci/Getty Images)Atalanta were ready to accept the terms of €45m plus €5m in bonuses, and they were down to the details for how those add-ons and clauses would be worked out.Inter also presented personal terms to the player today, reportedly worth €2.5m per season.However, Chelsea suddenly dived in after an order from coach Xavi Alonso to get the Italy international in his squad, and they really did pull out all the stops.ZENICA, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – MARCH 31: Tarik Muharemovic of Bosnia & Herzegovina competes for the ball with Marco Palestra of Italy during the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers KO play-offs match between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy at Stadion Bilino Polje on March 31, 2026 in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images)Multiple sources state their salary offer was more than double that of Inter, going from €5m for Sky Sport Italia to €6m per season according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.Along with how determined they were to sign him, it proved enough to sway Palestra, who had until now seemed determined to take the next step of his career within Serie A at Inter.TURIN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 29: Francisco Fernandes da Conceicao of Juventus FC competes with Marco Palestra of Cagliari Calcio during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and Cagliari Calcio at Allianz Stadium on November 29, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)They also comfortably swept Inter aside in terms of the transfer fee, offering €55m plus €5m in bonuses, according to Sky Sport Italia and Sportitalia.That is €10m more than the proposal from the Nerazzurri, yet Atalanta were still prepared to let Palestra make the final decision.Multiple reports this evening state that Inter are increasingly pessimistic, because they simply cannot compete with the finances of Chelsea.
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