Published 16:51 IST, December 28th 2019
Lampard sets £34m price tag for Emerson as Juventus, Inter Milan eye January move
Frank Lampard has set a price of £34 million for defender Emerson Palmieri in the January transfer window amid interests from Juventus and Inter Milan.
- SportFit
- 3 min read
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has set a price of £34 million for defender Emerson Palmieri in the January transfer window with Serie A clubs Juventus and Inter Milan both showing interest in the Italy international. According to reports, the left-back has been attracting attention from overseas clubs and Chelsea will let him leave Stamford Bridge if bidders meet their demand of £34 million pounds. The 25-year-old defender signed for the Blues from As Roma in the year 2018 for a fee of 17.6 million pounds. Palmieri has played a total of 48 games for Chelsea, scoring 1 goal and providing 5 assists.
Lampard sets £32m price tag
According to reports, such a high fee for the left-back will result in clubs backing off. Chelsea has also ruled out a possibility of sending the player out on loan for what the rest of the 2019-20 season. The Italian has featured in a limited number of matches for Chelsea because of a hamstring injury he suffered in the month of September but has played 14 games under Frank Lampard. Reports suggest that the Lampard has still not decided on the club's first-choice left-back, giving both Emerson Palmieri and Marcos Alonso game time to prove their worth.
According to reports, Juventus could make a move for the left-back in the January transfer window. However, Maurizio Sarri is aware of the fact that he will have to sell a few players in order to bring Palmieri to the Old Lady. If Chelsea is to sell Emerson then the most suitable replacement would be Leicester City's Ben Chilwell. The 23-year-old has impressed under Brendan Rodgers and that might help him feature in Gary Southgate's plans for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2020 tournament. Reports suggest that Leicester are not in favour of selling the defender as he is under contract till 2024.
Lampard looking for reinforcements
With the FIFA imposed transfer ban now lifted, Lampard will have the freedom to bolster the squad which directly means that he will be looking to sign new players in the transfer window. According to reports, Lampard has been handed a budget of 150 million pounds, fanning rumours that a part of the money could be used to sign a new defender.
With Eden Hazard signing for Real Madrid, Frank Lampard has conveyed to the board that they should take the necessary steps to sign England International Jandon Sancho. According to reports, Chelsea has identified Sancho as their top target but reports suggest that Borussia Dortmund will not let the former Manchester City winger leave until the summer transfer window.
(With inputs from agencies)
Updated 16:51 IST, December 28th 2019