Emerson Palmieri was a very good left-back for West Ham United and was part of the side that won the Europa Conference League. Surprisingly, Graham Potter froze him out, and he was sold to Olympique de Marseille at the start of last season.
The Hammers had El Hadj Malick Diouf as their left-back instead last season, but he was suspect defensively. Diouf was very good on the ball, is only 21, and left West Ham for Brentford after the relegation.
West Ham still has Oliver Scarles as left-back, and he has the potential to be a top player. The Hammers also have Adama Boiro on loan from Athletic Bilbao. However, he has featured in just one Championship match so far this season. Morato, who is predominantly a centre-back, has had to fill in at left-back.
Emerson moved on to bigger and better things. He has since played 43 times for Marseille and has set up three goals. The former Italy international has also represented the Ligue 1 side in the Champions League.
His form with Marseille has attracted interest from Juventus. According to Corriere dello Sport (translated from Italian), "Marseille's left-back has always been considered a real possibility, even if it's an alternative to Argentine Tagliafico."
Tagliafico is Olympique Lyonnais' left-back, who was linked with Juve over the summer. The Serie A side needs a new left-back as their current options, Andrea Cambiaso and Juan Cabal, are both injured. Cabal also had a move to Atalanta fall through over the summer.
Juventus are also set to sign former West Ham target Neto. The goalkeeper has the same agent as Emerson, Bertolucci. This could make negotiations more straightforward. Losing Emerson would leave Marseille short on options at left-back, as they currently only have Ulisses Garcia as a backup.
Emerson has started all five of Marseille's Ligue 1 options this summer. Garcia has made just two appearances since returning to the club from Sassuolo over the summer.
The former West Ham left-back knows Serie A well, as he played for Palermo and AS Roma at the start of his career. Despite being born in Brazil, and representing the South American side up to Under-17 level, Emerson switched his international allegiance to Italy. He played 29 times for the Azzurri and won the European Championships with them.
He is now 32, so joining Juve at this stage in his career would be tempting. They are now managed by Luciano Spalletti, who was Emerson's manager at Roma. Juve are currently seventh in Serie A after five games. They are also competing in the Europa League this campaign.
Over the summer, Emerson was linked with a return to his former club, Santos. However, his time at the highest level of European football may not be over just yet.
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