Analysis: Why Chelsea target Emerson may be the next Cafu

It may not be the sexiest acquisition of all time, but Chelsea is on the verge of acquiring a star. Roma left-back Emerson Palmieri is in line to follow in the footsteps of many of his fellow countrymen on his way up the ranks of the best wingbacks in soccer.

The London club is working out the details for the purchase of Emerson; at a fee thought to be around €20-25 million. Should they come away with him this month, all signs indicate that they will feel similar to rivals Liverpool, who fleeced the Giallorossi when they signed Mohamed Salah for €30 million.

Having only played twice this season after recovering from tearing his ACL, it’s helpful to look at Emerson’s statistics from the 2016-17 campaign.

Courtesy of Ted Knutson of Statsbomb, let’s take a look at Emerson’s ‘spider’ chart from that season:



That right side of the radar indicates that Emerson was the second-most creative attacking full-back in Europe (the first being Alex Sandro). He set a completely new standard with 1.8 key passes per 90 minutes, 1.5 crosses p90, and 2 successful dribbles p90.

In Antonio Conte’s 3-5-2 system, Emerson will replace Marcos Alonso on the left-wing. To understand how much of an upgrade the ex-Santos star will be, let’s take a look at Alonso’s ‘spider’ chart, along with two other Premier League stars; James Milner and Danny Rose:



Now contrast those ‘spider’ charts with those of Alex Sandro, Marcelo, and David Alalba that season:


Courtesy of Chance Alalytics

At Chelsea, the Italian international (he holds an Italian passport) will be surrounded by a multitude of weapons, the qualities of which far surpass his teammates at Roma. In Conte’s system he should develop into a world-class wingback. When all is said and done, it’s quite possible that he’ll be mentioned in the same breath as his countrymen Maicon, Marcelo, Dani Alves, and Cafu.