According to a report by Sky Sports, Chelsea have allowed Emerson Palmieri to join French Ligue 1 club Olympique Lyon on loan.
Emerson has had a roller-coaster spell in his career ever since he joined Antonio Conte’s Blues for a £17.6million fee. The high of a transfer move to a massive club like Chelsea was soon met with the low of making just 7 league starts in his first full season. Now on the back of a UEFA Euro winners’ medal, was it the right time for Chelsea to have offloaded him?
As harsh as it sounds, Emerson Palmieri should realize that he had no future at Chelsea. The left-back surprisingly played just 88 minutes of Premier League football in the whole of last season. It is clear that Thomas Tuchel has Marcos Alonso and Ben Chilwell way above Emerson in his pecking order.
The Spaniard and the Englishman vied for starts between them last season and would continue to do so during this campaign as well. 24-year-old Chilwell, who arrived for a huge £50million fee from Leicester City last summer, would particularly be the man seen by the Blues as a long-term left-back solution.
Alonso, who made a significant reputation with his attacking displays in Italy at Fiorentina, has translated that same vigour in England with Chelsea. While he may have been out of favour under Frank Lampard, Tuchel’s appointment has seen him find a new lease on life at Stamford Bridge.
He was, after all, the starting wing-back for Chelsea in their opening game against Crystal Palace, where he also netted a sublime free-kick. Amidst this, it would have become very tough for Emerson to find a place in the starting XI. It is, hence, wise of the Blues to have decided to offload him to a club that can potentially use him in their set-up.
Having already landed Romelu Lukaku for an eye-watering £97.5million, their focus is believed to have shifted towards Jules Kounde – the Sevilla defender with a £68million release clause. If the Blues plan to land another big name, room needs to be created in the squad, which is why clearing out players like Emerson makes sense.
