Report: Chelsea reaches agreement to sign Roma's Emerson

Chelsea reached an agreement to sign Emerson Palmieri from Roma on Monday, sources told BBC Sport's Saj Chowdhury.

It's believed the Blues will pay an initial £17.6 million for the left wing-back, indicating that his arrival will be a separate deal from the reported approach for Roma striker Edin Dzeko.

The move for Dzeko has reportedly completely collapsed, but Emerson is expected to sign four-and-a-half-year contract worth £42,000 a week in the English capital, The Evening Standard's Simon Johnson understands.

Antonio Conte has been on the lookout for wing-back assistance since last summer. Davide Zappacosta was brought into Torino to compete with Victor Moses on the right-hand side, but Marcos Alonso's spot on the other flank has gone relatively untroubled.

Emerson, 23, is a natural down the left, but Aleksandar Kolarov stole his spot in the Roma lineup while he was absent for three months with a knee injury. Emerson's performances last term were superb, though, and encouraged the Italian football authorities to paw for the necessary paperwork to make the Brazil-born talent eligible for the national team.