Emerson Royal touches down on clubs he admires amidst Tottenham uncertainty 

Tottenham defender Emerson Royal faces an uncertain future in North London. The 23-year-old right-back signed from Barcelona last year but has struggled for game time under Antonio Conte. 

Emerson has recently gone through some personal trauma, having survived an armed-robbery attempt in Brazil.

Naturally, the incident has left a huge mental scar on the defender but he spent some time talking to Brazil’s biggest podcast Podpah and spoke at length about his career. 

According to football.london, Emerson mentioned his dream of playing for Barcelona, something he has realised already at such a young age. He said:

“In fact, I had a dream of playing for Barcelona, right? Today, of course, I admire many, many clubs. Several clubs. City, Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid, big clubs that, of course, everyone wanted to play in a team, apart from Tottenham, which I play. But a specific team like that, not today.”

Emerson was signed for £25.8m with expectations quite high on the young Brazilian. He made 31 Premier League appearances in his maiden campaign, starting in 26 of those. 

However, he has struggled to make the transition from right-back to wing-back, which is essential for Conte’s formula. 

One name that has been linked to Tottenham in recent days for the right wingback spot in Middlesborough’s Djed Spence.  Spence spent last season on loan at Nottingham Forest, helping the club to Premier League promotion. 

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This doesn’t, however, signal the end for Emerson Royal at Tottenham just yet. Spurs have invested big money on the defender and may be inclined towards having him around for another season. 

With pre-season approaching, Emerson will have the chance to impress Conte which if he does, could change the Spurs gaffer’s mind.