Tottenham Hotspur defender Emerson Royal, according to Paul Merson, is simply not good enough for Antonio Conte’s team.
Spurs paid £25.7million to sign the Brazilian from Barcelona last year, but the defender has failed to live up to expectations and has been a letdown.
Over the last year, the 23-year-old Brazilian has been the target of a barrage of criticism. That was amplified last weekend when he was sent off for a horrific tackle on Gabriel Martinelli.
Paul Merson blamed Royal for Spurs’ embarrassing defeat to Arsenal. In his column for Sportskeeda, he wrote:
“I don’t know what Emerson Royal was doing, he’s not good enough and his side were embarrassed by their local rivals owing to his red card.
“Emerson Royal is not good enough and tends to struggle badly when he’s off it. I like Ivan Perisic, but he isn’t getting any younger, so Conte has a thing or two to think about.”
Conte’s system relies heavily on the wing-backs and while he has enough quality on the left side in Perisic and Sessegnon, right wing-back is an area the manager will need to strengthen in January.