Emerson's agent adresses Chelsea exit rumours

Emerson Palmieri's agent has addressed the exit rumours surrounding the out-of-favour Chelsea left-back.

Chelsea forked out €20 million (£18m/$24m) to sign Emerson from Roma in January 2018, tying the defender down to a four-and-a-half-year deal.

The 26-year-old has since appeared in 63 games across all competitions for the Blues, scoring once, while also becoming an FA Cup and Europa League winner.

He has never quite managed to establish himself as a regular in the starting XI at Stamford Bridge though, and once again finds himself on the fringes of the action under Frank Lampard in the early stages of the 2020-21 campaign.

Emerson made only his second Premier League appearance of the season when he came on as a substitute for the injured Ben Chilwell in the first half of Chelsea's 3-0 home win over West Ham on Monday night.

Inter and Juventus both expressed an interest in the Italy international during the summer transfer window, and he is being linked with a move away from west London once again ahead of the winter market.

However, Fernando Garcia, who serves as Emerson's main legal representative, has expressed his belief that his client will remain on the Blues' books until beyond January.

“Will he go away from Chelsea in January? I do not believe so. I don’t know if there will be the possibility of returning to Italy," Garcia told FCInter1908.

Pressed on the possibility of Inter reigniting their pursuit of Emerson, he responded: “For now there have been no contacts with Inter."

Garcia added on the Chelsea star's relationship with his current manager: “Emerson has a good relationship with Lampard.”

Lampard confirmed that Chilwell is a doubt for Chelsea's next Premier League fixture against Arsenal on Boxing Day after the win over West Ham, telling reporters: "I expect he'll be doubtful for Arsenal.

"He turned his ankle, tried to carry on but it was too painful so we'll have a scan or whatever tomorrow and try to see how bad he is."

Emerson will likely be asked to fill the England international's boots again if he does not recover in time for the trip to Emirates Stadium, with the Blues in need of another victory to keep the pressure on current league leaders and reigning champions Liverpool.

Lampard's men are six points adrift of the Reds in the title race at the moment in fifth, with Leicester City, Manchester United and Everton currently occupying the final three Champions League spots.