Marco Palestra will be licking his lips after Xabi Alonso’s first press conference as Chelsea boss

Palestra joined Chelsea in a big-money deal at the start of the month, arriving from Atalanta for a £47m fee.

Alonso has now hinted where Palestra could play next season, which should excite the defender.

In his press conference, Alonso highlighted the fact that Palestra can play as a wing-back, suggesting that he could be used as one in the new campaign.

Who would you start in a five-man defence for Chelsea?

Speaking in his presser, which was broadcast live on Chelsea’s official club website, Alonso said: “He has many great qualities for modern football. He can play in a back four or a back five, on the left. We need to keep working with him to adapt to the Premier League. He has a great mentality in terms of competitiveness and his hunger.”

While Palestra can also play as a full-back, as Alonso mentioned, he spent most of last season playing in the right wing-back position at Atalanta.

It is a role, then, that the Italy international is very familiar with. Playing there also means that he will get plenty of opportunities to get forward and attack.

Ultimately, following Alonso’s press conference, Palestra has good reason to be excited about his move to Chelsea and the 2026/27 campaign. He will be licking his lips over the prospect of getting to play in a position that allows him to dribble and attack.

There is no guarantee that Alonso is going to use a back five at Chelsea every game, but it does look like it will be an option for the 44-year-old. It probably needs to be after the way the Blues defended last term.

Bringing an extra defender into the team and using wing-backs could help Chelsea to improve in that area without losing their attacking threat.

Chelsea are interested in Maxence Lacroix, so the Crystal Palace man could be one of the three centre-halves Alonso uses in his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation.