Chelsea suffer £15m transfer blow as Italian star's demands end summer interest

Emerson Palmieri is now unlikely to join West Ham United from Chelsea this summer due to the Italian’s wage demands, understands.

A deal for the left-back was progressing well yesterday with Chelsea prepared to let Emerson leave in a transfer worth around £15million including add-ons. However, talks between West Ham and the defender hit a stumbling block over his salary and the Irons are understood to have - for now - walked away from discussions.

Emerson joined Chelsea in January 2018 from Roma but was unable to establish himself as a first-team regular under Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri, Frank Lampard, and Thomas Tuchel.

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Yet Emerson was still selected for the Italy squad for Euro 2020 and started the final at Wembley as the Azzurri defeated England via a penalty shootout.

With Ben Chilwell and Marcos Alonso in situ at Stamford Bridge, Emerson left Chelsea on loan last summer and spent the campaign on loan in Ligue 1 with Lyon. Chelsea did try to recall the full-back in January after Chilwell suffered a knee ligament injury but the French side demanded a significant fee in order for the Blues to break the loan early, something that was ultimately not agreed to.

It is likely that West Ham will still be in the market for a new left-back, with Aaron Cresswell the only recognised options there. However, summer signings Maxwel Cornet and Thilo Kehrer, as well as Ben Johnson, can play in that role.

The Hammers' signing of Kehrer on Wednesday took them to six acquisitions for the summer, with a total spend of around £110m so far.

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