Antonio Conte eyes reunion with Chelsea star but Blues not keen on exit

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Inter are reportedly considering a move for Chelsea left-back Emerson Palmieri in a deal that would reunite him with Antonio Conte.

As per Sky Sports, Chelsea signed the 24-year-old from Roma in January 2018 for an initial £17.6m, but he struggled early on to make an impact.

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Last season proved to be more productive for him with a bigger role towards the end of the campaign in particular, as he made 27 appearances in total.

However, with the switch in manager as Frank Lampard has replaced Maurizio Sarri, it remains to be seen which players fit the 41-year-old’s plans and who is potentially at risk of being sold.

According to Calciomercato, via the paper edition of Tuttosport, Inter are looking at Emerson as a possible signing should Ivan Perisic depart this summer.

Nevertheless, it’s added in the report that although the Italian international isn’t expected to be a starter for Chelsea next season, they still have no intention of selling him as ultimately he would be the only real competition that Marcos Alonso faces in that area of the starting line-up.

Lampard will need quality depth across the squad to compete on multiple fronts, and so it’s easy to see why Chelsea wouldn’t be particularly keen on green lighting an exit.

Further, with their transfer ban in place, they would be unable to replace Emerson and so the logical decision would be to avoid any further exits unless necessary or for players deemed surplus to requirements.

In turn, it sounds as though Inter and Conte may well be forced to look elsewhere for reinforcements in that department, as the Italian tactician looks to stamp his mark on the Nerazzurri squad this summer as they prepare for a Serie A title assault as well as trying to compete in Europe.

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