Chelsea dealt blow as Ligue 1 side reject recall request for 27-year-old Blues loanee

Olympique Lyon deny loan recall request from Chelsea for Emerson Palmieri after Ben Chilwell update

According to the French news outlet L’Equipe via Get French Football News (h/t Daily Mail Online), Olympique Lyon have denied the loan recall request from Chelsea for the left-back Emerson Palmieri following the surgery update on Ben Chilwell. He moved to Italy in the summer for the season and has been solid with his performances so far.

The Blues decided that Chilwell should undergo surgery on his knee which would see him on the sidelines for the rest of the season. As a result, they had identified Emerson as an option to compensate for the situation, putting in a request for a recall.

However, Lyon have rejected the appeal, much to the disappointment of the English club. The latter had not inserted a formal recall clause in their agreement which seems to have hurt them in this case. The Italian was sent on loan with a buy option after the West London club extended his contract till 2023.

Thomas Tuchel’s side shortlisted several transfer targets ahead of the January transfer window for solving their fullback problem. Lucas Digne of Everton, Nicolas Tagliafico from Arsenal and AC Milan’s Lucas Hernandez are the identified options in the list.

Emerson a big miss?

We desperately require reinforcements in the left-back area, or we could potentially risk our chances of achieving titles this term. While Marcos Alonso is an option, he has been inconsistent with his performances, meaning he is unreliable to be used constantly in every single game.

An injury or suspension to Alonso could further put us in a dangerous situation, so we should try to prevent such occurrence by bringing in an addition. While the Blues loanee does not have the same quality as the England international, he would have been a solid option in the short term.

The 27-year-old could have been a feasible option compared to other choices where we might have had to spend big to bring in reinforcements. Other clubs would know our current situation and would try to corner us during negotiations and ask for a high fee if they are ready to negotiate for the shortlisted players.

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This situation highlights how we should be wary at all times and should have included the recall clause as it would have helped us in such circumstances. It remains to be seen how the club would react moving forward as we try to find a suitable replacement for Chilwell.