Chelsea defender Emerson Palmieri is set to leave Stamford Bridge and return to his native Italy before the end of the winter transfer window today, according to reports.
The 26-year-old arrived at The Blues' in 2018 for £17m during fellow Italian Antonio Conte's reign.
Emerson has failed to secure regular football under any of Conte, Maurizio Sarri, or Frank Lampard and it seems as if nothing will change during the Thomas Tuchel era.
During his three years at the club, Emerson has only made 32 Premier League appearances and 65 in all competitions.
Under Lampard, Emerson established himself as back-up to Ben Chilwell after the former manager sidelined Spaniard Marcos Alonso.
However, in the two games since Tuchel took over Emerson has failed to see any action and was not included in the matchday squad for the 2-0 victory on Sunday against Burnley.
Alonso was recalled to the team for that game and gave an excellent performance at left wing-back, capping it off with a fine goal.
Chilwell started the previous match and the left wing-back spot seems to be a straight shootout between the Englishman and the Spaniard, leaving Emerson out in the cold.
The former Roma defender is reported to be of interest to Serie A giants Juventus and Napoli but the clubs only have a limited time to get the deal done with the Italian transfer deadline set for 7pm UK time.
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Emerson has only seen 88 minutes of league action this season, with his three starts all coming in cup competitions and the Champions League.
He has regularly featured in matchday squads but this is mainly due to the exclusion of Alonso.
With the Spaniard now firmly back in the Chelsea picture Emerson's game time at Stamford Bridge is set to be limited, making a move away all the more inticing for all involved.
