Chelsea have no reason to sell Emerson, but that’s no reason for him not to be in the transfer rumour mill for a January sale.
Given how adroitly Marina Granovskaia handled the entire summer transfer window, the £100 million Chelsea received for Eden Hazard is probably sitting in some high-yield convertible security instrument, and will probably reach £130 million before Real Madrid has to pay out on any of the performance clauses. Between selling Hazard and the transfer ban, the Blues have by far their largest positive account balance in the Roman Abramovich era.
Chelsea have no financial need to sell anyone in the next two windows. They have enough to buy anyone they choose once the ban is over.* And if the ban stays in place for the January window they will not be able to replace anyone they sell, the squad is already shallow in some areas. Chelsea can voluntarily sit out the selling side of the transfer window just as they are involuntarily staying out of the buying side.
But a few rumours are still popping up about the Blues off-loading a few players in January. Ross Barkley has been the subject of a few, given his subpar performances this season and the fact that he is the sort of player you can always count on West Ham to buy mid-season.
Emerson, though, is in a more substantial rumour. Calciomercato says Juventus may be interested in Emerson as a back-up for Alex Sandro.
The rumour is plausible on its face. Juventus have long been interested in Emerson, going back to his time at AS Roma. His injuries were likely the biggest factor in Juventus never moving for him before.
Maurizio Sarri has a high opinion of Emerson. Emerson played 1,020 minutes in the Europa League last season: his second-most in any campaign and any competition in his career. His 660 minutes in the Premier League and 480 in the EFL Cup were the fourth- and fifth-most, respectively.
Emerson may return from his current injury to find himself in the familiar place of second on the depth chart, as Marcos Alonso is proving himself a better option at left back as well as a much better wing-back. While Emerson may not have the extremes of performance that Alonso has, he is not better than Alonso at any aspect of the game, let alone on a consistent enough basis to be the starting left back.
Emerson would be in the same position at Juventus, so he would need to weigh which club offers him a better chance of more minutes as well as things like trophy potential and style of play.
If Chelsea were to sell Emerson they would be back to one-deep at left back, a situation that has hung over the club for years. The Blues would have three full-backs for two spots: Alonso, Cesar Azpilicueta and Reece James. The latter two can play on either side, but the team would lose their depth in either a three- or four-man back line.
However, Ian Maatsen a very impressive debut in the Carabao Cup against Grimsby Town. If Chelsea sold Emerson, Maatsen could be accelerated into the first team, at least for training purposes so he could step into the matchday substitutes should anything happen to Marcos Alonso. At age 17, Maatsen would still be the youngest person on the fringes of Frank Lampard’s squad, but age is vanishingly important to Lampard’s squad selection.
Setting aside Juventus’ interest, if Chelsea were to sell a left back it would probably be Marcos Alonso, simply because he is 28, three years older than Emerson. Calciomercato said Chelsea offered Emerson a contract extension through 2024. If Emerson signs that this fall, the rumours will end there and shift to the other left-back.
Then again, Maatsen may just take over directly for Alonso when Alonso leaves, and Emerson will still be in the second chair.
These rumours will almost surely end with the January window, at least until the summer. Chelsea have many reasons not to sell Emerson, and they have no good reason to do so. They don’t need any more money to start doing business when the summer window opens. The Ian Maatsen contingency is just that – not a motivating force.
*No, they are not going to sell N’Golo Kante so they can afford Neymar, so just stop with that.