Juventus and Inter Milan are interested in signing Emerson Palmieri from Chelsea, according to reports from Calcio Mercato (via Sky Sports), with the Blues set to ask for £25m for their in-demand left-back.
Emerson, 25, has been with Chelsea since arriving from Roma in 2018 and could provide cover for Alex Sandro and Mattia De Sciglio at Juventus, while at Inter he would likely compete with Kwadwo Asamoah for a place in the starting eleven.
The History and Statistics
Santos noticed the left-backs talents at youth level and awarded him his first professional contract, making his first appearances for the club in the Brazilian Serie A in 2013, playing 14 times, scoring once and registering two assists for the Brazilian giants.
Emerson played three more times for Santos before being transferred to Palermo on loan, where he covered for Achaf Lazaar, making just nine substitute appearances for the remainder of the 2014/15 season.
The following campaign the Brazilian moved to another Serie A side on loan, this time Roma. Again, he was the second choice, played behind Lucas Digne, as Emerson made just a single start, along with being introduced from the bench seven times. But he impressed enough in the Italian capital to earn a year’s extension to his loan deal, which was later made permanent. The left-back established himself as an essential member of the squad, making 23 starts and gained invaluable experience in Europe, making five Europa League appearances.
Midway through the 2017/18 season, Antonio Conte signed the defender for £17.6m, who put pen to paper on a four-and-a-half-year deal with the London club. Though in the two full seasons since his arrival at Stamford Bridge, the left-back has struggled to hold down a regular place in the Premier League, making fewer than ten starts in the past two seasons.
Despite representing Brazil at Under-17 level, Emerson became an Italian citizen and has played seven games for the Italian national side.
The Prospects
Emerson Palmieri is a versatile left-sided player who can operate as a full-back, wing-back or in a more advanced role, who is skilful, possesses a good range of passing and reads the game well. If he were to make the move as Calcio Mercato (via Sky Sports) suggest, he would not be likely to start games ahead of Alex Sandro.
Still, Emerson would provide excellent cover and compete with Mattia De Sciglio who has only made four starts this season. Whereas, were he to move to Milan, via Antonio Conte’s Inter he would be competing with Kwadwo Asamoah for the left-back role in the starting eleven.
His transfer fee would not trouble either side though, he is valued at £22.5m which is comfortably within their budget, so the move is feasible, but he may prefer not to join Juventus where he would likely be significantly down the pecking order.
Inter Milan could be a more realistic destination, having previously played under Antonio Conte at his current club. With the Milan side, he could conceivably make a more significant number of first-team appearances, as there is less competition for places, which may sway him to make a return to Antonio Conte’s dressing room.
