If you’ve been keeping track of Antonio Conte’s time at Inter Milan so far, you’ll know he’s having a Premier League reunion party at the club.
The Italian manager hasn’t hesitated to bring in players from England, with Ashley Young, Victor Moses, Christian Eriksen and Romelu Lukaku all making the move thus far.
He seems chiefly set on raiding his former club Chelsea, with numerous rumours suggesting Moses will not be the only one to move from Stamford Bridge.
Throughout January Inter were linked with both Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri, with Conte keen to add a new left-back to his squad.
Gazzetta explain that Conte ‘probed’ Chelsea about the pair in January, but the Blues set high price tags for both – around €30m – and that scared Inter off.
However, when the transfer window reopens, they believe the situation could have changed as a result of several mitigating factors.
First, there is the impact the coronavirus outbreak is having on club’s finances, secondly, because Chelsea seem intent on getting a new left-back themselves and thirdly because both players might not be too enthusiastic about reduced roles under Frank Lampard.
Inter are not the only club keen on Emerson, with Juventus also admirers and providing ‘strong competition’ for his signature because Maurizio Sarri is a big fan of the 25-year-old.
