Olympique Marseille on the verge of sealing move for Emerson Palmieri  | OneFootball

Olympique Marseille are closing in on a move for West Ham United left-back Emerson Palmieri, according to Foot Mercato.

The 31-year-old Italian international has emerged as Marseille’s top target to fill the void left by Quentin Merlin’s summer departure to Rennes.

Having previously considered Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas, Marseille are now intensifying their efforts to bring Emerson to the Orange Velodrome stadium.

Emerson played 31 of West Ham’s 38 league games last season but has not featured since May, with his place now taken by new arrival El Hadji Malick Diouf.

Unsurprisingly, the Hammers are now keen to part ways with Emerson, who is under contract until 2026 and is one of the club’s highest earners.

Emerson has a considerable European pedigree after previous spells playing for Roma and Chelsea before moving to West Ham.

He also spent the 2021/22 campaign on loan at Lyon and would be open to a return to the top tier of French football.

After finishing second in Ligue 1 last season, Marseille have been active in the transfer window.

Les Minots have already brought in nine new players this summer, although their business is far from done heading into the final seven days of the market.

In addition to a new left-back, Marseille are also working on deals for Dani Ceballos and Joel Ordonez.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side endured a disappointing start to the new season following a 1-0 defeat to Rennes in their opening fixture.

However, they have since bounced back with a 5-2 demolition of newly promoted Paris FC last time out.