AFP, LONDON: Chelsea have secured the signing of left-back Emerson Palmieri from Roma on a four-and-a-half year deal, the Premier League champions said on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old played just twice for Roma this season after missing the first three months of the campaign with a serious knee injury.

“I came here because it's a great team with a great history. Today I am realising one of my dreams to pull on the shirt of such a great club,” Emerson told the Chelsea website.

“English football is something I have been watching since I was 15 years old. It is a really beautiful game over here but it is going to be even more beautiful to play it.”

The Brazil-born defender, who joined Roma from Santos in 2015, obtained Italian citizenship last year and was called up to the Italy squad by then coach Gian Piero Ventura in May.