Noel Whelan believes Japhet Tanganga has lost his first-team place to Emerson Royal at Tottenham.
The former Leeds United striker has been impressed by the summer signing and he reckons he was the perfect player to sign for the role of Tottenham’s full-back.
Emerson joined the Lilywhites at the start of this season from Barcelona, but Tanganga had been the club’s first-choice right-back with Matt Doherty and Serge Aurier both struggling for form.
Spurs sealed the transfer of Emerson to make sure they have an accomplished player in that position and the Brazilian has proven to be one.
The full-back is one of the better players at Tottenham in this campaign and keeps improving in every game he plays for the club.
Whelan says he is a good attacking full-back and also knows how to defend.
He loves to get forward and his athleticism means he can also quickly cover at the back when he is needed to do that and reckons Tanganga has lost the battle against him.
“I think he could have the edge over Tanganga,” he told Football Insider.
“You’ve got to be able to play the full role now – you’re not just a defender, you’re a midfielder and sometimes even a winger.
“He’s got to work box-to-box. There are many parts of that position where he’s fantastic, he ticks every single box.
“You can see how high he likes to get; he’s got a really good attacking presence.
“He wants to take people on and link up when he gets into those dangerous areas – but he can defend as well.
“He’s got the athleticism you need for the role with the amount of ground he covers.
“For me, he’s a natural. He’s the one they’ve brought in for this specific role.”