Napoli shift focus from Chelsea defender Emerson Palmieri due to demands
According to Sky Italia (h/t football.london), Chelsea may have been dealt a blow in terms of outgoing transfers as Napoli have decided to shift their attention from Emerson Palmieri.
The 26-year-old left-back joined Chelsea from Italian outfit AS Roma in January 2018. However, he has struggled to carve out a regular starting berth for himself at Stamford Bridge. To date, Emerson has featured just 70 times for Chelsea in all competitions, scoring two goals and setting up five more. (h/t Transfermarkt)
Having been behind the likes of Ben Chilwell and Marcos Alonso in the pecking order at the Bridge last season, the 26-year-old managed to make only 15 appearances across all competitions, not seeing a single minute of Premier League football under new manager Thomas Tuchel.
Given his situation, Chelsea are said to be keen on offloading him in the ongoing transfer window, with Emerson attracting interest from back home in Italy, with Napoli keen on signing him. However, the Blues have slapped a valuation in excess of €20m on the full-back, which has proven to be a stumbling block in the deal, as per the report.
Indeed, Napoli deem the valuation as excessive and, as a result, have identified an alternative for the UEFA Euro 2020 winner in the form of Mathias Olivera of Getafe. The La Liga defender is expected to be available for a price tag in the range of €15-18m.
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The interest in Olivera could be genuine, while it could also be a negotiation tactic from Napoli, in hope to get Chelsea to reduce Emerson’s price tag. Given that the Blues are preparing for another big summer, it is important that fringe players like the 26-year-old are offloaded. It now remains to be seen if an agreement is struck with the Serie A side or they end their pursuit of the Euro winner for good.