West Ham United have suffered a big set-back in their attempts to lure Chelsea’s Italian defender Emerson Palmieri to the London Stadium.
What’s the word?
That is according to the ever-reliable super-journalist Fabrizio Romano, who claims that the deal is now off for West Ham.
Taking to his personal Twitter page to issue the update, Romano said:
“Emerson Palmieri deal off for West Ham, confirmed. No agreement on salary despite deal close to being completed with Chelsea as called earlier by @JackRosser_
A summer disaster
It goes without saying that the Hammers are in desperate need of established squad options in order to bolster depth. So the latest news will come as a real blow, especially considering the lack of full-back options at the club, amidst the potential for extra games due to the Europa Conference League.
Though, the signing of a “Champions League goal-scorer”, as pointed out by Adi Joseph on Twitter, would have represented an astute coup for David Moyes and would have alleviated pressure from the shoulders of Vladimir Coufal, Aaron Cresswell and Ben Johnson, with the aforementioned being the only notable first-team full-backs in the squad this season.
Two of those three options are in and around their 30’s, so Moyes cannot solely rely on their availability throughout the entirety of the season.
Which is where the move for £75k-per-week Emerson, who has just enjoyed a prosperous loan-spell at Lyon in Ligue 1, would have come in.
Unfortunately, it is not to be at this moment in time with Chelsea said to want £20million for the Italian.
The Hammers reportedly had their opening offer of £13million rejected by Chelsea and amidst Romano’s update, there is “no way for [a] loan move as of now.”
With around two weeks left of the summer transfer window, Hammers fans will surely be hoping for a turn of events in this debacle.
