Chelsea ready to sell defender for £18m

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has given the green light for the club to offload Emerson this summer.

The Italy international made only 21 appearances during the recent season and the majority of those came during the first half of the campaign.

Emerson is currently the third-choice left-back in the squad behind Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta and Football Insider claims that Lampard is willing to sanction his sale.

He was valued at £25m earlier this year, but it now appears that the Blues are willing to accept a reduced £18m fee for the former AS Roma defender.

Inter Milan are said to hold a long-term interest in the 26-year-old and they are likely to come up with a formal approach for his services this summer.

Antonio Conte has opted to sign a number of Premier League-based players since taking charge as the Nerazzurri boss last year.

Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Christian Eriksen and Ashley Young are among the former Premier League stars contracted to the club.