Chelsea loan out Emerson to Lyon

Emerson Palmieri has completed a loan move to Ligue 1 club Lyon where he will play the remainder of the 21/22 season. 

The player made his last appearance in a Chelsea shirt in their inaugural Premier League game against Crystal Palace as a substitute. The Blues extended his contract till January 2023, and have now sent him out on loan to have game time due to Ben Chilwell and Marcos Alonso being ahead of him in the order. 

The Italy international was part of the Euro 2020 squad under Roberto Mancini, and was close to joining Napoli or Roma. However, Lyon completed the signing of the full-back on a dry loan spell with no option to buy the player. 

The player joined Chelsea in 2018 for €20 million, and has made 71 appearances for the London club over two and a half years with them. 

AC Milan are in talks with the Blues for Bakayoko on a loan deal, which would make him the third player to join Milan from Chelsea this summer after Olivier Giroud and Fikayo Tomori. Atalanta and Fiorentina are interested in Davide Zappacosta, while Ike Ugbo remains a target for Genk and Marseille. 

Chelsea also loaned out Michy Batshuayi and Kennedy in an attempt to deplete their stacked squad for the summer. The Blues have only signed Romelu Lukaku for the first team this window, and look content with the way their squad has shaped up. A few more departures could set them up for a productive financial season as well.