Italian defender Davide Zappacosta has returned to his homeland to join Atalanta on a permanent deal.

Chelsea announced the transfer on their official website on Tuesday.

Zappacosta heads back Atalanta where he first played Serie A football ending his four-year Chelsea career.

He spent last season on loan with Genoa and featured heavily, recovering well from a serious knee injury he sustained while on loan with Roma the season prior, and going on to feature 25 times for the northern Italy side.

The right-back made a number of appearances for Chelsea in pre-season but with the likes of Cesar Azpilicueta and Reece James above him in the pecking order at present, Thomas Tuchel has allowed Zappacosta to move on.

The 29-year-old defender will be returning to familiar surroundings at Atalanta, having made his breakthrough in Serie A with Atalanta in 2014/15, before earning a move to Torino.

His impressive performances in Turin led to Antonio Conte signing the right-back for Chelsea in 2017, with Zappacosta netting a memorable goal against Qarabag on his full debut.