Tottenham Hotspur are monitoring Atalanta’s full-back Marco Palestra over a possible move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next summer, according to Nicolo Schira.
Palestra, who is on loan at Cagliari from Atalanta, has established himself as one of the most exciting full-backs in Serie A this season.
Brought in initially as cover, the Italian has firmly established himself in Fabio Pisacane’s lineup this season, playing an instrumental role in their survival fight, where they now sit in 13th place and eight points above the relegation zone.
Last season, brief outings with Atalanta’s senior squad offered flashes of his ability, but stiff competition from established right wingbacks Davide Zappacosta and Raoul Bellanova led to the decision to loan him out in search of consistent game time.
Now at Cagliari, Palestra is making a strong push for inclusion not just in Atalanta’s plans for next season but also in Gennaro Gattuso’s final squad for the World Cup qualification clash against Northern Ireland at the New Balance Arena in Bergamo on March 26, as per Sky Sport Italia.
It appears his performances have also caught the attention of Tottenham, as Nicolo Schira claims that the north London club are keeping tabs on Palestra ahead of a possible swoop to north London in the summer.
Palestra to Tottenham
The journalist reports that a Spurs scout was present at the Unipol Domus Stadium to watch the Italy U21 international during the game between Cagliari and Lazio, where he completed the full 90 minutes.
Spurs’ current right-back options include Pedro Porro and Djed Spence. Porro has been struggling with fitness, leading to Archie Gray being used in that position, while Spence has mostly been utilised on the left due to injuries to Destiny Udogie.
Hence, a natural fit at right back is required, and Palestra would be a viable option for that role.
His abilities are not restricted to the typical traditional fullback role; he constantly makes intelligent bursts forward. One of his most outstanding qualities is his ability to invert seamlessly into pockets of space in the middle of the pitch, a trait constantly required of modern-day full-backs.
With Spurs’ interest at this time only exploratory, it’ll be interesting to see whether the North London club follows up with a concrete offer, which will likely be above his £21m Transfermarkt valuation.
