Hijack! Chelsea beat European giants to €55M deal for Italy's brightest talent

The Blues have moved decisively in the transfer market as new manager Alonso continues to reshape his squad.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea have hijacked Inter Milan’s long-standing interest to agree a deal for highly-rated Atalanta right-back Marco Palestra.

Romano revealed that Inter had an agreement in place with the player for several days, but Chelsea entered the race strongly and have now overtaken their rivals.

“For the last seven to 10 days [Inter] had an agreement done with the player on the contract terms,” Romano explained.

“During these negotiations, Chelsea have entered very strong the race for Marco Palestra.”

Chelsea have tabled a significantly higher offer than Inter’s proposal of €45m plus €5m add-ons. The London club have sent an official bid worth more than €50 million, with the package potentially rising to €60 million including bonuses.

Atalanta have accepted Chelsea’s improved proposal, but despite the agreement with the club, the deal is not yet complete, with the Stamford Bridge club now awaiting final approval from Palestra himself.

“Now Chelsea are waiting for the final green light from Palestra,” Romano added.

“Then they hope to have the ‘Here We Go’ already this week for Marco Palestra.”