After a year on loan in France, the full-back was close to returning to London in January and might feature for the Blues once more. Thomas Tuchel’s future with Chelsea will please Emerson Palmieri ahead of pre-season negotiations that will determine his future. The full-back had a solid season on loan at Lyon, but his loan may have been cut short if his parent club moved to recall him following Ben Chilwell’s terrible injury. The Ligue 1 giants turned down the west Londoners’ repeated attempts to bring Emerson back, but he explained his current predicament in fluent English, which he continued to master while in France.
“I didn’t speak with [head coach Thomas Tuchel] just yet,” Emerson said, speaking after Italy’s 3-0 defeat to Argentina on Wednesday. “I have a contract with Chelsea. I played there for three seasons and I have a lot of friends there. If I come back, I’ll be happy. It’s a good place and club for me. I don’t know [whether I will return], let’s see what can happen.” Adding on his newly-found confidence in English: “Yes, I improved it a bit!”
“For me, it was a good season because I played a lot of games,” Emerson went on. “Of course [it felt good that Chelsea wanted me in January]. Lyon said no, so I didn’t come back. It didn’t depend on me. Those conversations were between the clubs. “Lyon said no and I respected that because when I signed there I signed for one year, not six months. But now I will go back to Chelsea in the pre-season I think and let’s see what happens in the next month.” The west Londoners begin pre-season on July 2 but international players will join the group a week later on July 9. They will then embark on a tour of the United States, facing Club America, Arsenal and Charlotte FC.