A brilliant Brighton star has effectively put himself on a plate for a reunion with Graham Potter at West Ham and he’s the perfect replacement for star who is set to be sold.
With the Hammers reportedly preparing to offload a player who was dropped from the squad at the end of the season, the transfer link makes perfect sense.
West Ham have already released six players this summer and Michail Antonio is tipped to be the next.
That’s before Graham Potter starts his summer sales in order to raise cash to fund West Ham’s rebuild.
After years of getting top money selling on low cost signings, PSR is not an issue for Brighton and Hove Albion.
Potter has made Emerson’s West Ham future clear
Potter was at the helm when Brighton really came of age in the Premier League.
How much influence the Hammers boss had on Brighton’s recruitment at the time is unclear given Tony Bloom’s computer scouting programme is said to do a lot of the heavy lifting at the Amex.
But West Ham’s head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay was also with Potter at Brighton, so it can be assumed the pair had their say on deals.
Potter has said himself he inherited a defensive mess at West Ham.
And one of the big victims of changes he has made has been Emerson Palmieri.
The Brazilian-born Italian international was West Ham’s man of the match when they won the Europa Conference League on that unforgettable night in Prague two years ago.
That European run was the making of Emerson as a West Ham player.
He had blown hot and cold following his £13.5m move from Chelsea, Emerson’s confidence rocketed with a brilliant performance in the semi-final against AZ Alkmaar.
Fast forward to present day, though, and it seems he has played his last game for the Hammers.
Emerson was one of the first players to fall out of favour with Potter after his arrival in January.
Brighton star on a plate for Potter reunion at West Ham
In fact he was dropped for youngster Ollie Scarles in Potter’s very first game in charge and rarely started for the rest of the campaign.
It should also be noted that every game Emerson has started under Potter he has been subbed off.
The 30-year-old hit a new low when West Ham travelled to Ipswich for the season finale as he was dropped from the squad entirely.
Emerson sent a cryptic post after his West Ham squad snub which many believe is a huge hint he will be leaving.
The left-back has been linked with moves to Italy and Turkey, with claims this week that Lazio want to sign Emerson from West Ham.
Now a brilliant Brighton star has put himself on a plate for a Potter reunion at West Ham.
Selling Emerson would leave youngster Scarles, who has struggled after impressing initially, as the only recognised left-back at West Ham.
But the Hammers believe in Scarles long-term and as a result they want to sign an experienced full-back – hence the links to the likes of Kyle Walker-Peters.
Now one of the best left-backs in the top flight has made himself available and Potter will almost certainly be interested given he was the man who brought him to England.
West Ham were heavily linked with a move to sign Pervis Estupinan from Villarreal before he joined Brighton.
At one stage it was claimed a deal to take the Ecuadorian to east London was all but done.
The Seagulls swooped, though, and beat the Hammers to the 27-year-old, who has been one of their top performers ever since.
Estupinan actually made his debut for Brighton in a 2-0 win at West Ham and has never looked back.
His time under Potter was short-lived – because Chelsea came in and paid £21m to take the Englishman to Stamford Bridge.
Now the swashbuckling left-back, who is three years Emerson’s junior, has told Brighton that he wants to leave the club for a new challenge this summer.
Estupinan says he wants to leave Brighton this summer
“It’s been three years at Brighton, a time of great learning, but it will be a busy transfer window,” Estupinan told El Canal del Futbol.
“The club knows I’d like to continue growing, and they understand that.
“I’ve spoken with them, and they’ve given me the freedom to make a decision and see what is on the table.”
West Ham’s problem is funds.
Macaulay has been actively targeting players in the last two years of their contracts in the hope of being able to get more affordable deals for West Ham.
That is the case with Estupinan – so a reasonable deal may be able to be struck with Brighton.
Estupinan was at Watford for four years as a younger player so relocating to West Ham wouldn’t be an issue either.
The issue is West Ham may have to offload Emerson or another player or two first before being able to do a deal.
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