Chelsea agree personal terms with Emerson Palmieri, as Kenedy heads to Newcastle — report

UPDATE: Matt Law is reporting it as well. It’s happening.

Chelsea appear to be closing in on a second signing this January, and this one certainly would solve a need unlike the opportunistic acquisition of Ross Barkley at the beginning of the month.

According to Simon Johnson of the Evening Standard, Emerson Palmieri has agreed personal terms with Chelsea today, signing a 4.5-year contract. Johnsons’s report claims a 4-year deal, but that really doesn’t make much sense contract expiration dates are almost always at the end of seasons, not in the middle.

Emerson apparently is set to earn £42k per week, which in the grand scheme of things not much at all. Combined with the £20m transfer fee, Chelsea look to be getting a pretty decent deal. Of course, the 23-year-old is coming off of a major knee injury and while he looks fully recovered (he had recently made his return to match action already), there is always a bit of doubt. Hopefully, he recovers just like Rudiger in the summer or Azpilicueta did back in the day.

The deal is not yet finalized as Chelsea and Roma iron out the final details (and/or possibly look to combine with the Dzeko deal/nonsense), but as far as Emerson’s concerned, all that sounds like a formality at this point.

It’s happening!

P.S.: This also means that Kenedy is ready to join Newcastle, having been given permission on Monday to leave on loan. (And, as mentioned earlier, Baba looks set for Schalke 04.)