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Meet the underrated Roma left-back who looks destined to join Chelsea over Liverpool in a £20m move


Meet the underrated Roma left-back who looks destined to join Chelsea over Liverpool in a £20m move

Emerson Palmieri has been a victim of injuries and form and could prove to be a bargain for the Blues

WHEN it comes to Serie A’s reputation as a boring, defensive league, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. Seeing Paulo Dybala, Mauro Icardi and Gonzalo Higuain plunder goals almost every time they take to the field, hints at the attacking quality now abundant in Italian football, while Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli play with a breathtaking swagger that even left Pep Guardiola impressed.

Yet while those who champion this shift in opinion the loudest clearly have a point, coaches who have worked in Italy seem to understand that it is still the place to go shopping for defenders. Watford’s entire squad is peppered with former Serie A players thanks to Walter Mazzarri’s influence, Jose Mourinho has Matteo Darmian at Old Trafford, while Antonio Conte seems infatuated with filling his backline with men signed from his homeland.

Antonio Rüdiger (AS Roma), Marcos Alonso (Fiorentina) and Davide Zappacosta (Torino) all feature regularly, while the Chelsea boss recently had to deny that he would move for Juventus stalwart Giorgio Chiellini this summer. The rugged central defender might be unattainable, but Conte certainly seems to be looking to Italy in order to strengthen his options at left-back, first linked with Brazil international Alex Sandro before turning his attention to another South American born alternative.

Emerson Palmieri of AS Roma is the latest to catch the eye of the former Italy and Juve Coach, particularly after losing his status as first-choice due to a long term injury. Now fully fit, the form of Aleksandar Kolarov in his absence has kept the 23-year-old on the sidelines, but his performances last term certainly didn’t go unnoticed.

His journey to the Italian capital was standard enough, emerging through the youth ranks at hometown club Santos before making the move to Europe after being spotted in 2014 by scouts working for Palermo. Making just nine appearances for the Sicilian side, he moved to Roma a year later, finding his path blocked by French full-back Lucas Digne, and when he opted to sign for Barcelona, Mario Rui was expected to fill the void.

Yet an injury ruled out the Portuguese defender, and finally Emerson would be given a chance to showcase his talent. He seized that opportunity with both hands, but only after making the worst possible start, being sent off in Roma’s Champions League playoff against Porto. That sent them into the Europa League and Luciano Spalletti was cautious in using the defender, restricting him to just 86 minutes of action in their opening seven matches.

Emerson even featured at right-back for a couple of games, but would then revert to his national flank for an extended period and begin to truly deliver upon his obvious potential. His most prominent trait is arguably his comfort on the ball, blessed with an excellent first touch and the ability to make short, intricate passes that usually only come naturally to the very best midfielders.

That skill to retain the ball helped Roma to dominate possession and build attacks slowly, a stark contrast to the impact Mohamed Salah’s speed inflicted on the other side of the pitch. Making 36 appearances in all competitions, he may have registered only one goal and one assist, but his impact on the Giallorossi attack simply cannot be understated.

Connecting with an average of 46.5 passes per game, he completed 87.4% of his attempts, which is the best rate of any starting full-back in Italy last term. According to WhoScored.com’s statistics, Emerson created 1.4 scoring chances per 90 minutes, while his skill also allowed him to beat would be markers with consummate ease. His average of 2.1 successful dribbles was the highest among all defenders other than Leonardo Spinazzola of Atalanta (2.2), testament to both Emerson’s ability to go past his man and a sense of when and where to attempt to do so.

He also excelled defensively himself, averaging 1.8 tackles and 1.8 interceptions per game in addition to winning 1.2 aerial duels per game. Figures provided by squawka.com show that while that latter number is relatively low, the 5’9” (176cm) Brazilian won 68% of the headers he contested, showing that he could win far more given the opportunity.

His play won him a call up for Italy, qualifying to play for the Azzurri thanks to Italian citizenship he has due to relatives in his mother’s family. Former boss Gian Piero Ventura believed Emerson’s blend of speed, skill, tactical awareness and accurate passing would be useful for the national team, and now a number of other coaches seem intent on getting him to do the same for them.

Conte’s Chelsea, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Max Allegri’s Juventus have all made enquires about his availability this month, and it will be interesting to see if any can pry him away from the Italian capital. Vastly underrated but boasting incredible potential for improvement, Emerson Palmieri is a full-back to monitor closely over the next few months, both for his emerging talent and the chance he could soon be on the move.

 

 


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