‘Odds are rising’ club will turn to Chelsea man – Could try to repeat deal struck last summer

The ‘odds are rising’ that Napoli will make a move for Chelsea left-back Emerson Palmieri this summer as they seek out a new player for the position.

That’s according to Gazzetta Dello Sport, who say the Chelsea man is on a list of options that the Italian side are looking at this summer.

They’re keen to find a long-term replacement for Faouzi Ghoulam, but president Aurelio de Laurentiis has insisted that there will be no purchases if there are not sales first.

Thus the scouting department are looking for ‘low-cost competitive solutions’, and the ‘odds are rising’ on Palmieri being that man.

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That’s because the club are looking more for a left-winger than a player who can feature in a four-man defence, while they also know that Emerson ‘lived his best period’ under new coach Luciano Spalletti.

A big stumbling block is his wages at Chelsea, where he earns more than €4m a year net, but that expires in a year, and the Blues could be keen to get rid as a result.

Napoli, therefore, could try for a deal like they managed with Tiemoue Bakayoko last summer, in which managed to spread his salary out and afford the deal.

Whether Chelsea will sanction that again isn’t mentioned, so that remains to be seen, but as always, there is an Italian club keen to bring Emerson back to Italy.