‘Emerson Palmieri decision made as West Ham line strike £22m Diouf deal’
Emerson Palmieri looks set to depart West Ham United this summer, with the club making a serious move to strengthen their left-back position.
The 29-time Italy international joined the Hammers from Chelsea in 2022 and has since played 113 times across all competitions.
Emerson was a key player in West Ham‘s run to Uefa Conference League glory in 2022/23, playing eight times and notching a goal and an assist.
And just last season, the full-back made 31 Premier League appearances, clocking up 2,125 minutes (Transfermarkt).
Emerson heading for West Ham exit door
Despite proving himself an important figure at the London Stadium, Emerson turns 31 next month.
Meanwhile, he has just one year left remaining on his current West Ham deal and despite the club having another year on option, they may feel it’s time to move him on before he goes past his best.
| 2024/25 Premier League stats | Emerson Palmieri |
| Appearances | 31 |
| Goals | 2 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Chances created | 16 |
| Tackles won | 31 |
That certainly seems the case with talkSPORT reporting on Sunday (13 July) that West Ham have agreed a £22million plus add-ons fee with Slavia Prague to sign El Hadji Malick Diouf.
The Senegal international can play in all positions on the left side but excels as a wing-back, notching seven goals and three assists in 24 league outings for the Czech giants last season.
Diouf said his goodbyes to the Slavia supporters during their friendly against Dynamo Dresden on Sunday, with it just a matter of time before he wears the claret and blue.
That would make life difficult at West Ham for Emerson, who has appeared on Lazio’s shortlist recently, according to the Laziali (11 June).
West Ham reeling after Kudus ‘boxing match’
It’s not been a smooth summer so far for West Ham, who have endured the departure of key forward Mohammed Kudus.
The Hammers angered supporters after accepting a fee in the region of £55m from London rivals Tottenham Hotspur for the Ghana international.
Former Everton chief Keith Wyness has now revealed the brutal nature of the negotiations between the two clubs.
“This was like a boxing match with David Sullivan against Daniel Levy, two of the great characters of London football. A negotiation between both of them, I only wish that could be on pay-per-view. I would pay for that. That would be great to see,” Wyness told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast.
“Somebody said £50m, and somebody said, we want £60m. That is a gap that has been bridged very easily. It was a case of what the add-ons were.
“As I understand it, Spurs had offered cup bonuses. I think West Ham wanted league position bonuses or appearance bonuses. That has been resolved quickly, but both Sullivan and Daniel could not resist some sort of public battle.
“Probably West Ham, more than anybody, are going to be feeding it to the media, but it’s just a classic bit of North London banter.
“Now it’s done and I think Kudus will be off to Spurs.”