Maurizio Sarri keen for Juventus to arrange signing of former Chelsea charge Emerson Palmieri

Emerson Palmieri

The 25-year-old Emerson worked under the Italian during Sarri's single season in charge at Stamford Bridge in 2018/19.

Left-back is a problem position for Sarri at Juve as Alex Sandro is his only natural option in the role.

Chelsea want to hand Emerson a new five-year contract and the club’s transfer ban provides them with another reason to try to hold on to the player.

He has established himself as Roberto Mancini’s first-choice option on the left side of defence for the Azzurri during their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign, featuring in Italy’s last four qualifiers and providing two assists.

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Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.