Emerson Palmieri has been in truly sensational form for West Ham United so far this season.
West Ham signed Emerson Palmieri from Chelsea in 2022 for around £13 million, but it took him quite some time to settle into life at the London Stadium.
In fact, the Italian made a really slow start to life with the Hammers, and played second fiddle to Aaron Cresswell for the majority of the season.
David Moyes eased the 29-year-old into action very slowly indeed, and it wasn’t until the Europa Conference League final in June when we finally got to see the best of him.
Since then, he has been so good for us that we have missed him desperately when he’s been unavailable due to injury or suspension.
I’m ashamed to say that I had already written off Emerson this time last year, after his poor display for West Ham against Brentford just before the turn of the year.
He just didn’t look like the left-back that we needed, and I called for Moyes to make an urgent upgrade in that department in the 2023 January transfer window.
How wrong I was, and it’s time to give the former Chelsea man a proper apology…
An apology to West Ham ace Emerson Palmieri
Emerson – I am sorry. I wrote you off far too soon and he’s just such a great example of players needing a little bit of time to settle when they move clubs.
We all need to be far more patient with new signings, because look at how Emerson has blossomed over the past six months.
Credit where credit’s due, the majority of West Ham fans stood by the Italian, and supported him through the bad times.
Now those fans are reaping the rewards. In my opinion, the Italy international has been the best left-back in the Premier League this season.
In 18 Premier League appearances so far this season, Emerson has averaged 2.9 tackles, 1.1 interceptions and 2.4 clearances per game. He has made 38.2 passes on average per match and has recorded a completion rate of 82.6% (Who Scored).
I knew about his outstanding technical ability, but I have been mightily impressed with his energy, pace and stamina levels down the left hand flank for the Hammers.
The Italian just seems to be getting better and better with every week that passes, and the £13 million that we paid for him 16 months ago now looks like an absolute steal.
Chelsea must be really regretting selling him to us in 2022.
Emerson Palmieri is my shout for Hammer of the Year so far, and if he keeps producing the goods for West Ham over the next few years, he could end up being a club legend.
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