Tottenham Hotspur defender Emerson Royal was linked with a move away from the club during the January transfer window.
According to a report from the Athletic, Antonio Conte decided to keep the Brazilian defender at the club last month and he wants the 24-year-old to continue at Tottenham as a backup option to the January signing Pedro Porro.
Tottenham signed the 23-year-old from Sporting CP on deadline day and the Spaniard is expected to be the first choice right back at the club. In order to make way for him, Tottenham decided to terminate the contract of Matt Doherty who has now joined Atletico Madrid on a free transfer.
However, Conte believes that Emerson still has a lot to offer and he has decided to keep the 24-year-old at the club.
It will be interesting to see if the former Barcelona player can fight for his way back into the starting lineup and convince Conte to select him ahead of Porro.
Emerson has been largely underwhelming this season and his performances have prompted the London club to dip into the transfer market for a quality right-back.
Porro has been in impressive form this season scoring 3 goals and picking up 11 assists across all competitions.
It will be interesting to see if the Spaniard can hit the ground running and hold down a regular starting spot in the side now.
As for Emerson, he is well-settled in the Premier League and he should prove to be a reliable backup option to the January signing when called upon.
