Chelsea defender Emerson Palmieri has not held talks with Napoli over a potential move this summer.
The Brazilian has been heavily linked with a return to Italy in this transfer window, particularly after Chelsea’s capture of Ben Chilwell.
The England international’s arrival at the club means Frank Lampard currently has three left-backs in his squad, with one of either Palmieri or Marcos Alonso expected to leave.
Both have been linked with returns to Italy and Spain respectively, with the former having been linked with a move to Inter Milan for several months.
It seems, though, that those rumours were premature, with his agent telling Calcio Napoli 24 there has been ‘no contact with Napoli for Emerson Palmieri’ at this point.
That would suggest a deal is in the early stages at best, with the website explaining there are two issues to be resolved before they can sign him.
The first of them is Faouzi Ghoulam as him still being at the club ‘effectively blocks’ any arrivals at this point. He’s negotiating ending his contract, which has been confirmed elsewhere, before sealing a move to Wolves.
That would free up space and wages but even then, Emerson’s requested contract at €4m per year is too high for Napoli, who would need Chelsea to pay ‘more than half’ of that in any prospective loan deal.
So it seems any deal is not very advanced at this moment in time, with several issues needing to be resolved before the Blues defender could end up in Naples.
