Chelsea, Lyon in talks over Emerson Palmieri transfer — reports

Emerson came on for the last few minutes of our 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, and there is a chance that it will turn out to be the last of his 71 appearances for Chelsea.

According to multiple reports, including from the Guardian, Olympique Lyonnais are “in talks” with Chelsea over a potential transfer that “could” be worth £15m, which is right around our previously reported €20m asking price that had caused all potential suitors in Italy, including most prominently Napoli, to drop out.

Lyon were first linked at the start of the month, supposedly making an inquiry after missing out on their primary left back target, former Chelsea prospect Patrick van Aanholt. They’ve since also missed out on PSG’s Laywin Kurzawa, possibly prompting them to step up their Emerson interest.

Emerson showed that he’s a perfectly adequate left back for most top flight teams with his performances at Euro 2020, helping Italy to the title, so hopefully a solution to benefit all involved can be found before the end of the transfer window. Lyon would be a great choice, though it’s still questionable whether they can actually afford a transfer fee (€30m+ in sales over the past few weeks should be helpful however).