Reports: Emerson Agrees to Personal Terms with Chelsea (Update: Dzeko Says Yes, Too)

Another day, another stop on the Emerson Palmieri merry go round. So far this week we’ve seen the Chelsea connection appear out of thin air, which then was imbued with a bit of objectivity when his agent confirmed the talks, and now, well, now it seems as though Palmieri may have already agreed to personal terms with Antonio Conte’s club.

Now, if you’ve been with us over the past few years, you know that “agreeing to personal terms” is a rather hollow phrase, to the point where I’ve long since lost track of how many players Roma has agreed to personal terms with, but it is progress nevertheless. To that end, Tuttomercatoweb reported that Palmieri and Chelsea have agreed to four-year deal worth a reported €2.5 million, which represents a substantial raise from his current €350,000 salary.

What is not so certain, however, is the actual deal struck between the two clubs. While Chelsea is reportedly prepared to offer €20 million plus bonuses for Palmieri (per Calciomercato), who further claim that the deal may be closed early next week, TWM reports the two clubs still remain some €5 million apart on this seemingly impending deal.

Point being, the final cost is merely a matter of conjecture; Roma’s supermarket is once again open for business. I’ll repeat what I said yesterday, the price for Emerson is fine given his injury history, though if you believe the reports linked above, Roma were ready to accept that same amount from Juventus prior to Palmieri’s injury, but this is simply the latest example of the tail wagging the dog in a desperate bid to evade FFP and/or buy Uncle Jimmy a new yacht.

Palmieri will join Mohamed Salah and Antonio Rudiger as the latest souls sacrificed to FFP, while at the same time the club attempts to cobble together a squad that can qualify for the Champions League, so, you know, they won’t have to pay FFP fines anymore.

It’s a maze of circular logic in which Roma cuts off her nose to spite her face. They can’t compete consistently if they keep cutting their team off at the legs, and if they can’t compete, they won’t have enough revenue to forestall their FFP demons, and so it goes.

Nevermind the fact that his could have been avoided had they not wasted €42 million on Gregoire Defrel and Rick Karsdorp, but here we are. Call us negative or call us reactionary, it doesn’t matter. Can you really say that you have faith in the Pallotta regime or in Monchi or in EDF to end this vicious cycle when nothing in the club’s recent history suggests otherwise?

The sale of Emerson Palmieri isn’t the disease in and of itself, it’s just another hideous scar on the face of an otherwise beautiful club.

Update: Per this Tweet, Edin Dzeko will follow the Karate Kid to London.