Lunch Break: Palestra flies to Chelsea, Inter left empty-handed

At noon the main course comes from London: Marco Palestra has said yes to Chelsea and Atalanta have struck a deal worth more than 55 million, leaving Inter empty-handed (Calciomercato, Sky Sport, Corriere della Sera). On the rest of the menu Juventus lay out the Kolo Muani deal, Milan serve up Guernier's official arrival, and from La Liga comes the piping-hot Julián Álvarez row between Atlético and Barcelona.

Let's start with the starter, served piping hot. Marco Palestra is all but a Chelsea player: the verbal agreement with Atalanta is built on an overall fee above 55 million and the structure is now defined (Calciomercato). Sky Sport already spoke last night of the Blues «closing on a deal with Palestra and Atalanta», while this morning Corriere della Sera retraces the London hijack — a meeting with the agent and a video call with Xabi Alonso — under a heavy headline: «Palestra to Chelsea, this is how Inter were gazumped». The Nerazzurri, in pole position at the start of the week, are left with an empty plate.

Out of the Milan kitchen comes the first genuinely official dish: Aurélien Guernier is a new Milan player, an English winger signed from Birmingham City on a three-year deal plus option (Gianluca Di Marzio). And Milan keep clearing the table: Yunus Musah is now an Atalanta player and Samuel Chukwueze has packed his bags for Fulham (eurosport.it), part of the big outgoing market bankrolling the revolution led by Amorim.

A hearty second course, in black-and-white sauce. Juventus are pushing for Kolo Muani: Corriere dello Sport writes that «the agreement with PSG is close», even with Openda and David still in the background. Between the posts the name of Emiliano «Dibu» Martínez stays alive, with Sky Sport confirming him as an «objective in goal» with «steps forward expected». All around, a flurry of dishes already served: Roma have made official the sale of Tommaso Baldanzi to Genoa (Retesport), Lazio have announced Gattuso on the bench and now await Peruzzi (Corriere dello Sport), and Como have locked down Smolcic with a renewal (SOS Fanta).

From Spain comes the spiciest dish of the day. Atlético Madrid have announced they will report Barcelona to FIFA over the deal with Julián Álvarez (Calciomercato): sky-high tension on the Madrid–Barcelona axis, with the Blaugrana in the Colchoneros' crosshairs. Still in the Catalan camp, the attack stays hot: for Anthony Gordon the agreement with Newcastle has already been reached at around 80 million, Bayern's competition fended off (Goal.com).

For dessert, a taste from the Premier League. De Zerbi's Tottenham have closed for Marcos Senesi, a second defensive reinforcement after Robertson and a hijack completed precisely at Juventus' expense (Goal.com). All told, it's a midday with an English accent but a wallet that speaks Italian and Spanish: enjoy your meal.

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