Newcastle’s Palestra Bet Comes Up Against Inter’s Structural Need

Newcastle United want Marco Palestra, Atalanta’s 21-year-old wing-back, badly enough that the Daily Mail has placed him among the club’s leading summer targets. Atalanta are asking €50 million; Inter Milan have already had a €40 million opening bid rejected; and Sky Sport Italia has reported that Palestra himself prefers to stay in Serie A.

Newcastle are pressing the case regardless, working from a budget strengthened by the Anthony Gordon sale and from a position where three right-backs have just vacated the squad.

A Full Season at Cagliari

Palestra was born in Buccinasco, just outside Milan, in March 2005, came through Atalanta’s academy, and made his senior debut in the Europa League at 18 in November 2023 as part of the squad that won that season’s competition. The following August he came off the bench in the UEFA Super Cup against Real Madrid; a week later he started a Serie A opener in a 4-0 win over Lecce; and in November 2024 he made his first Champions League appearance against Young Boys. By the time Atalanta sent him to Cagliari for 2025-26, he had made nine first-team appearances across all competitions. He made 37 for Cagliari.

The loan produced the consistent Serie A football his development needed and that Atalanta’s Champions League schedule hadn’t been able to provide. Italy’s football federation, the FIGC, reported that his average top speed of 27.96 km/h made him the fastest player in Serie A last season. His official profile on Cagliari Calcio’s website describes him as “physically imposing” at 186 centimetres and capable of playing right-back or in more advanced attacking roles, including as part of a trident attack.

• 37 appearances for Cagliari across all competitions, 2025-26
• 3,084 minutes played in Serie A
• 1 goal and 4 assists in league play
• 7.03 average match rating on FotMob for the campaign
• Eight Italy Under-21 caps; two senior Italy appearances

His Transfermarkt valuation sat at €25 million as of December 2025, before the loan’s second half and his senior Italy call-ups changed the calculation. He appeared in a World Cup qualifier against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica in March 2026, putting him in front of scouting departments across Europe in a competitive setting. This week at Coverciano, Italy’s national training centre, he was among only four players in a 24-man senior squad with prior senior caps.

Newcastle’s Right-Back Problem

Three senior right-backs left Newcastle at the end of 2025-26. Kieran Trippier’s contract expired and he departed on a free transfer. Emil Krafth left. Mat Targett’s deal ended. Tino Livramento is the only established option remaining, and his own future at Newcastle has become the central variable in the club’s summer planning.

• Kieran Trippier: contract expired, departed on free transfer
• Emil Krafth: departed
• Mat Targett: contract expired
• Tino Livramento: two years remaining on deal, no extension agreed

Livramento, 23, signed a five-year contract when Newcastle paid a reported £40 million for him in 2023. His camp has not indicated willingness to extend it, despite Ross Wilson, Newcastle’s sporting director, naming the extension a stated priority after taking the role. The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards wrote in March that, with two years left on the deal, Livramento’s market value sits at its highest point right now. Manchester City have monitored him closely, and Football Insider reported this spring that he looks “increasingly likely to leave” as talks remain stalled.

The shape of what Eddie Howe wants from the right-back position has been consistent throughout his tenure. He needs a player capable of pushing forward and contributing in attack while holding a defensive line, and the ideal recruit is young enough to develop across several seasons rather than cover one. Trippier fulfilled the role on accumulated experience at 34. The Palestra pursuit is the search for someone to grow into it.

Anthony Gordon’s sale to Barcelona strengthened Newcastle’s budget considerably. Football Italia, the UK-based Italian football site that confirmed Newcastle’s involvement in the Palestra race, described the pursuit as an attempt to reshape the right-back position proactively, before any forced decision on Livramento becomes necessary.

How the Race Stands

Five clubs are registered at varying levels of intensity. Football Italia put the expected fee at a minimum of €45 million with Atalanta firm at their asking price. The gap between those figures leaves room for one round of negotiation before a full public auction becomes the mechanism.

Arsenal’s involvement goes back furthest. Football Italia cited Mikel Arteta’s staff as having tracked Palestra through the Atalanta academy and the Cagliari loan, consistent with how the club approaches young defenders before it commits. Manchester City had been connected via Sky Sport Italia, but the Daily Mail reported this week their interest has cooled. Liverpool were linked in recent months, though The Mail noted they are focused on other priorities. Newcastle arrived last, with Football Italia framing the move as a sequel to the Sandro Tonali signing from AC Milan.

Atalanta have no urgency to discount. The player’s contract in Bergamo runs for another year, and the club’s record in recent windows is to hold its valuations when the demand justifies it.

After Dumfries, Inter Push

The event that crystallised Inter’s urgency arrived in the first days of June. Transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano confirmed that Real Madrid triggered the €20 million release clause in Denzel Dumfries’ Inter contract, with the Dutch international completing a medical in the Netherlands ahead of formalising his move to the Bernabeu as José Mourinho’s first signing. Dumfries had spent five years at Inter, making 207 appearances, winning two Serie A titles and three Coppa Italia trophies, and reaching two Champions League finals. Inter’s first-choice right-side outlet is leaving at a price that leaves cash to reinvest immediately.

Sky Sport Italia, cited by Football Italia, reported that Inter have identified Palestra as the direct replacement and believe a deal at €45 million is achievable, €5 million below Atalanta’s asking price, despite having an opening bid of €40 million plus add-ons rejected. A club-to-club summit with Atalanta is expected to test whether that gap can close without triggering a full auction. The same reporting noted that Palestra has signalled a preference for staying in Serie A, a detail that hands Inter leverage with the player regardless of what the clubs agree on price.

Speaking from Coverciano on Monday, ahead of Italy friendlies against Luxembourg and Greece, Palestra addressed the season just finished and where his head was pointing:

I want to thank Cagliari and the coach Fabio Pisacane for my first season as a starter in Serie A. Now I’m focused on these two games and starting over with Italy. For next season, I hope to grow and improve even more, to fight for even higher goals.

He said those words with Inter, Arsenal and Newcastle all circling. Only Newcastle, of the four most active clubs, won’t be in the Champions League in 2026-27.

The Case for Tyneside

Sandro Tonali chose Newcastle over more decorated options when he joined from AC Milan in 2023 in a deal reported at £52 million. He had no European football in his first season on Tyneside. Under Howe he became one of the Premier League’s most consistent central midfielders. Football Italia described the Palestra approach as a pursuit along the same template: an Italian international with ambition, a manager with the record to develop it, and a club prepared to build the project around the signing.

The playing-time argument is specific. Arsenal can offer the Champions League, but Ben White holds the right-back position with genuine consistency and there is real squad competition behind him. At Newcastle, Livramento’s potential departure leaves a clear first-XI slot that is harder to find at either of the Premier League clubs with stronger European credentials.

Howe has made this kind of case work before. Livramento grew into an England international on Tyneside, starting the 2025 EFL Cup final as Newcastle beat Liverpool to win the club’s first domestic trophy in 70 years. Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle’s Brazilian midfielder, was signed well before the club reached the Champions League and developed into one of the most admired players in the division in the same environment. St James’ Park, consistently cited by visiting managers as one of the most intense settings in the Premier League, is part of the pitch Howe makes to any recruit weighing more than tables and wages.

The problem is that Inter have a structural vacancy on their roster, the Dumfries money to spend, and a player who has told Italy’s training camp he is ready for higher ambitions. A summit between Inter and Atalanta is expected before the window formally opens. If it closes the gap, Palestra’s next club will be Inter Milan.