Chelsea ‘slap £17m asking price on out-of-favour Emerson Palmieri amid interest from Inter Milan and Napoli’… less than a week after Thomas Tuchel praised the ‘amazing’ defender despite barely playing him
Chelsea are ready to sell Emerson Palmieri this summer, but only if their £17million valuation is met.
According to CalcioMercato, the Blues will not let the defender leave Stamford Bridge on the cheap despite his contract being due to expire in 2022.
Inter Milan and Napoli are said to be keen on bringing Emerson back to Italy at the end of the season.
Emerson Palmieri could be sold by Chelsea this summer if a club offer £17million for him
Both clubs showed interest in the January transfer window, but a deal could not be agreed as Chelsea hold out for a hefty fee.
The versatile defender was signed by former boss Antonio Conte for £17.6m in January, 2018, and the club want to recoup most of that figure despite his lack of playing time under Thomas Tuchel.
The Italy international is yet to start a Premier League fixture since the German arrived in January and was an unused substitute against Leeds on Saturday.
Speaking about Emerson’s situation after last week’s win over Everton, Tuchel said: ‘I have another guy who I would love to mention in Emerson [Palmieri], who suffers from bad decisions by me.
‘He does not play but he is an amazing guy who trains at the highest level and he never lets the team down with his mentality.
‘It was a super hard decision today to have him out of the squad, the same with Tammy [Abraham].
‘It is like this, we have a strong group. The guys have to keep on fighting. There’s no other way.’
Former Roma star Emerson would be reunited with Conte, the man who brought him to England, should he agree a move to Inter when the transfer window reopens.
