While the Emerson Palmieri exit sagas over the past few years have been tedious and boring, the Italy international has never been closer from an exit from Chelsea.
Pushed to one side by Thomas Tuchel, the left-back has been told by his national team manager, Roberto Mancini, to find himself more game time elsewhere, and there are a couple of clubs in Italy prepared to welcome him.
Napoli are one of those, as their new manager Luciano Spalletti has already worked with Palmieri in the past during his stint at AS Roma and appreciates what he has to offer.
That’s why the Serie A club are the ones pushing the hardest for the time being, at least according to Calciomercato.it.
The Italian website have an exclusive on Wednesday reporting that Napoli have made their first offer for the Chelsea defender after Spalletti ‘pushed strongly’ to get the man at his side.
It’s explained ‘the first appraisal put in place is of just under €15m’, although the Blues do hope to hold onto him for now, ‘also thinking about other potential negotiations such as the one with Inter that would involve Hakimi’.
Not only that, but Palmieri’s salary is currently at over €4m after tax, which ‘makes it difficult to find an agreement’ for now.
That’s why Napoli’s director of football, Cristiano Giuntoli, has ‘asked for a meeting with the negotiating intermediaries’, meaning ‘there could be developments in the next few days’.
Either way, the Italians are aware they are ‘facing a complex negotiations with low percentages of getting something done’.
But you don’t get if you don’t try, eh?
