'Here We Go' - Fabrizio Romano Confirms Chelsea's First Summer Signing

Since the appointment of Xabi Alonso as Chelsea's new manager, the Spaniard has reportedly focused on defensive problems as the Blues look for a major re-build to their backline.

With the departure of Marc Cucurella, the Blues certainly has a big void to fill this summer, but as it seems, Alonso and the club management are looking to be headed into the right direction.

The Blues have already made Maxence Lacroix as their prime transfer target during this window and are certainly keeping all avenues open in order to bring in the French center-back.

Now according to transfer market specialist Fabrizio Romano, the Chels have reached a verbal agreement with full-back Marco Palestra.

According to Fabrizio, the Blues have just made an offer which the Italian failed to refuse, as reportedly they have now hijacked Palestra from Inter Milan with transfer fee of over €55 million.

Inter apparently submitted a bid of €45 million for the 21-year-old defender and it was almost certain that his current club Atalanta agreed to those terms and were ready to let their talent depart this summer.

But the sudden explosive move from the West London side has just made Atalanta change their minds and have agreed on terms for Palestra's move to Stamford Bridge.

Palestra was seemingly out on loan with Serie A side Cagliari, where he made 37 appearances while playing as a full-back on both sides of the pitch, mostly as a right wing-back and also won the league's best defender of the season award, with one goal and four assists during the previous campaign.

The youngster is seen as the perfect signing for Alonso going into the new season, following the ongoing injury problems of their captain Reece James and a few inconsistent performances from Malo Gusto during the previous campaign.

Palestra's ability to play as a left-back makes his signing even crucial following Cucurella's departure, as Alonso is expected to utilize the talented full-backs qualities to the fullest.

Although the Blues have signed in a lot of highly talented youngsters over the past few transfer windows, but only a handful of them has been able to make their mark at Chelsea over the years.

The Chels' vision of building for the future has now made some of there more experienced player thinking about leaving the club as the Blues failed to find any major success during the previous campaign as they finished tenth in the Premier League table, with no European football next season.

Undoubtedly, Palestra's arrival is a significant win for the Blues this summer but with the transfer window still in it's initial phases, the Chels will need to add a few more ready-to-perform names during the upcoming months.