Emerson happy to come back to Chelsea now that he can’t stay at Lyon

Emerson Palmieri was back in London last night to take part in the Finalissima between Italy and Argentina at Wembley, and despite Italy’s 3-0 defeat, the 27-year-old enjoyed his time well enough to be looking forward to coming back to England and Chelsea next season.

Of course, he probably would’ve wanted to stay in Lyon instead, but with that door closing in his face, he definitely was just kidding about that, baby...

“I didn’t speak with [Tuchel] just yet [but] I have a contract with Chelsea. I played there for three seasons and I have a lot of friends there. If I come back, I’ll be happy. It’s a good place and club for me. I don’t know [whether I will return], let’s see what can happen.”

“For me, it was a good season because I played a lot of games. Of course [it felt good that Chelsea wanted me in January]. Lyon said no, so I didn’t come back. It didn’t depend on me. Those conversations were between the clubs. Lyon said no and I respected that because when I signed there I signed for one year, not six months. But now I will go back to Chelsea in the pre-season I think and let’s see what happens in the next month.”

-Emerson; source: Goal

Of course, just a few months ago Emerson claimed that he wanted to stay with Lyon in January because of a promise he had made to them, but hey, narratives are malleable by nature. This new one suits us better, right? The new season of Love Island is just around the corner, too, so this is good practice for that.

That said, if Marcos Alonso leaves, as expected, getting Juventus-linked Emerson back is probably a decent option to ensure we have an actual backup for Ben Chilwell.