Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Rohan Jivan

Tottenham's £22m player 'willing' to return to Spain after just one Premier League season

Tottenham right wing-back Emerson Royal is reportedly 'willing' to leave north London despite only joining the club last summer, according to recent reports.

Signed for a fee believed to be in the region of £22 million from Barcelona, the 23-year-old has so far failed to deliver in a Spurs shirt and has been out of the starting XI in the club's last three games in all competitions, with former Wolves star Matt Doherty favoured instead.

In Antonio Conte's 3-4-3 system, there is a huge reliance on the two wing-backs to provide natural width, operate in advanced positions and deliver consistent final-third quality.

Emerson, however, has failed to give any sort of reliability further up the pitch, along with demonstrating far too many lapses in concentration within the defensive third.

There is a growing expectation that Spurs will look to strengthen within this department in the summer, so it's not a huge surprise to see Spanish Publication Marca state that the Brazilian is planning on moving away from Tottenham and sets his sights on joining Atletico Madrid.

Manager Diego Simeone's interest in the player isn't new, as he was keen on Emerson during his Real Betis days, so perhaps there could be substance in a potential deal in the upcoming window.

Inter Milan are also cited as another club that have contacted the player’s camp, but Emerson would seemingly prefer a move back to Spain.

It will be interesting to see what happens at Spurs in the summer and given the fact that Conte has reiterated previously that he isn't convinced with the current squad, it's expected that if he is to stay at the club, significant funds will be made available to the Italian tactician.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.