According to Goal, Emerson Palmieri has suggested that he no longer feels ‘important’ at Chelsea, with the ace admitting he only feels valued when he’s away with Italy on international duty.
The 26-year-old made the statement after Italy’s goalless draw against Poland on Sunday night, with the ace adding that ‘things are not going’ as he wishes at Chelsea at this moment in time.
Goal report that Chelsea parted with £18m to sign the left-back from Roma in January 2018, but the ace has played second fiddle to Marcos Alonso for most of that time.
Opportunities will now be even more difficult to come by for Emerson after Chelsea signed Ben Chilwell for by money this summer, with the England international seemingly their long-term left-back option.
The defender has enjoyed a solid international break so far, with the full-back making a brilliant challenge to deny superstar Robert Lewandowski in the draw vs Poland.
Here’s what Emerson had to say on his position at Chelsea as well as international duty:
“When I arrive here I change my head. I feel important and part of the group. At Chelsea, things are not going as I wish in this part of the season. I just have to work.”
“When you play for the national team, you always have to be ready. When I play with this shirt I have to give my best.”
Emerson has only had a few consistent – whilst short – spells as a starter for the Blues. Under Maurizio Sarri, the ace was mainly called on in cup competitions, with injuries also troubling the defender since.
Things started off fairly well under Lampard for the full-back, with Emerson appearing in 12 of the first 20 Premier League games of the season. The ace fell out of favour at the turn of the year though.
Emerson only made six appearances last season after the New Year, with the ace’s only outings this term coming in the side’s two Carabao Cup ties.
Calciomercato reported recently that Frank Lampard’s fallout with Alonso actually led to Emerson missing out on a move to Juventus, with Chelsea switching their focus to offloading the Spaniard.
As well as the tackle on Lewandowski, Emerson came off the bench and played just under 30 minutes in the 6-0 win against Moldova, with the ace’s pass over the top sparking a counter which led to a goal.
In the tie against Poland, Emerson also had a decent chance of his own in front of goal, whilst also seeing calls for a penalty denied.
Emerson’s performances during the break so far have been very encouraging, it will be interesting to see whether the Italian-Brazilian becomes the prime backup to Chilwell following Alonso’s fallout.