West Ham United have ‘asked about’ Emerson, according to Sport on Friday.
He is currently on loan at Real Betis from Barcelona until the end of next season.
The La Liga winners invested €6m in signing the Brazilian and in order to retain him, they will have pay €6m to Betis. Barca, in principle, will only consider taking up this option if they receive an offer in excess of €20m.
Although Sport mentions the Hammers have gathered information about the South American, the Spanish champions have not received an official proposal for him.
Emerson is a non-EU player and Barca believe he isn’t ready to represent them. With the club having other options in the same position, the report gives an indication that Quique Setién’s side want to offload the player in the next transfer window.
West Ham currently have Ryan Fredericks and Pablo Zabaleta as the two right-backs in the squad. The latter’s contract will expire on June 30th.
The 35-year-old has already admitted it will be his last season in England and David Moyes’ side will need to bring in a replacement for the former Manchester City star.
Emerson, who has impressed for Betis this season with three goals and five assists, could be a candidate to replace Zabaleta, considering his age (21) and relatively affordable asking price (€20m+).
