West Ham were clearly in need of a new left-back in the summer but the signing of Emerson Palmieri from Chelsea looks to have been a huge waste of money.

After Aaron Cresswell's performances towards the end of last season became costly, with the experienced defender receiving red cards in vital Europa League ties against Olympique Lyon and Eintracht Frankfurt, it became clear that David Moyes needed cover in that position.

How much has Emerson cost West Ham?

Instead of searching for a young talent who could be relied upon to be the long-term heir to the 33-year-old Cresswell, the Hammers instead spent £13m to bring 28-year-old Chelsea flop Emerson Palmieri to the London Stadium.

The Italy international had been with the Blues since January 2018, when he signed from Roma, but would make just 71 appearances in more than four years at Stamford Bridge.

He would enjoy a loan spell at Lyon last season, averaging a strong 6.91 rating from WhoScored for his performances in Ligue 1 and that was clearly enough to convince Moyes that he was worth another shot in the Premier League.

However, he has managed just 13 appearances in the top flight so far this campaign and has averaged a woeful 6.39 rating from WhoScored, which ranks him as the joint-16th best performer at the London Stadium.

The full-back recovered his form somewhat with strong displays against Chelsea and Newcastle recently, notably enjoying 'one of his best games in a West Ham shirt' against his former employers in the words of Jonty Colman.

Sadly, he was back to his worst on Saturday as the Hammers were trounced 4-0 at Brighton, in a game which sums up how much the east London outfit have regressed from previous campaigns under Moyes.

Club legend Carlton Cole didn't hold back in his criticism of the left-back for his role in FCSB's opening goal in West Ham's 3-1 win earlier this season.

He said on BT Sport (via Read West Ham): “This is schoolboy stuff. He doesn’t even look once.”

Considering a 33-year-old Cresswell has been Moyes' first choice for much of this season, it seems clear that the Scottish manager doesn't trust Emerson to be a regular in this Irons side.

The former Roma man earns a remarkable £95k-per-week at the London Stadium, which means since his signing in August, the Hammers have spent £2,185,000 on the 28-year-old, which takes his overall tally to more than £15m when you factor in his transfer fee.

Unless Emerson can drastically improve his form at West Ham, he will surely go down as another transfer disaster by the Hammers, with that £15m going well and truly down the drain.