Sitting in the stands at the Stadio Olimpico last February as AS Roma took on Torino last February was memorable for several reasons. The Giallorossi put in a superb performance that day, with goals from Edin Dzeko, Mohamed Salah, Leandro Paredes and Radja Nainggolan completing a 4-1 rout over the Granata, a cameo appearance and an assist from Francesco Totti in his final season an added bonus.
However, there was something else that caught the eye, as a side-on view gave a superb insight into the talent and pace of left-back Emerson Palmieri. The Brazilian born defender bombed up and down the wing that day, performing both defensive and attacking duties with equal aptitude. It was no surprise then, to hear that both Liverpool and Chelsea were interested in signing the player this January, with the Blues said to have already made a bid of around €20 million.
English reports suggest that Salah himself had vouched for his former team-mate at Anfield, while Antonio Conte would be happy to receive another former Serie A defender to add to his collection of Antonio Rudiger, Marcos Alonso and Davide Zappacosta. Both would be taking a slight gamble given that the 23-year-old has only played 16 minutes of domestic action this term after sustaining a cruciate ligament injury back in May, but his record in 2016/17 would appear to make any such risk worthwhile.
A look at last year’s statistics reveals that Emerson held the highest passing success rate at Roma among players with 16 appearances or more with 88%, was only behind midfielders Kevin Strootman and Daniele De Rossi in terms of average number of tackles per match (1.8), and made the fifth highest number of interceptions overall. The Santos-born player also showed strength in the air, as the video below demonstrates.
Due to Italian heritage on his mother’s side, the full-back has declared his intention to play for the Azzurri in the future despite having represented the Brazil U17 side on nine occasions. A youth career in his native South America has clearly had an impact on his skill set though, having completed the most dribbles per match (1.8) than any other player for the capital club last term.
Indeed, that total is equal to compatriot Alex Sandro, the Juventus man also a target for Chelsea in the past. While he outranks Emerson in terms of goals, assists and key passes in the 2016/17 statistics, Sandro is also three years his senior, giving his Roma counterpart plenty of time to catch up.
Perhaps he would be more suited to a role at Liverpool then, given his links with star winger Salah and his clear desire to play attacking football. "It’s a really offensive style of football,” he said of new Roma boss Eusebio Di Francesco back in November. “We keep the team nice and tight and press high, which I like. Whenever we nick the ball, the idea is to go direct – I love that. We’re always trying to score goals and win football matches."
He certainly seems a player that would interest Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, and would slot in easily to a team that plays the kind of high press that the player himself mentions in the quote. Whether he ends up moving to Anfield or Stamford Bridge, Emerson Palmieri will end up delighting fans sitting at the side of the pitch, just like he did last February at the Stadio Olimpico.
