Brazilian fullback Emerson Palmieri is getting ready to start his first full season for Chelsea.
Currently spending his vacations in Brazil, the 23-year-old has spoken to local outlet A Tribuna, from his hometown of Santos, and talked about his first months at the London side.
“Whether you like it or not, the first difficulty is the language,” Palmieri told A Tribuna. “You need to speak fluent English and I was just talking the basics.”
Palmieri is currently recoverying from a knee inflamation, and his physiotherapist Tom Pierin has spoken a little bit about the treatment as well.
“Both Chelsea and other clubs I receive athletes from, I am committed to communication and transparency. The club has sent me all the images of his injury, which is nothing serious, but now we can complement what was already being done.”
Despite having spent most of his life playing in Brazil, Palmieri doesn’t have any heavy professional links with his home country. At Santos, despite the years at the academy, he only made 33 appearances in four years as a professional. He’s talked a little about his exit.
“Sometimes it’s not only the manager who makes the lineup. Sometimes, there’s an order for a guy to play because of the high investment that was made. In my situation this happened. I saw I should have been more used, but I saw that it was not going to happen.”
That’s why he left for Italy without being much acknowledged in Brazil, and now has Italian citizenship, expecting to be called up for the national team soon.
Palmieri was signed by Chelsea in January from Serie A side Roma in a €20m deal. He’s made seven appearances for the Blues in these few months at the club, including an FA Cup semifinal start against Southampton.
