Tottenham: Conte 'not a massive fan' of £25.8m

Antonio Conte isn’t a fan of Tottenham right wing-back Emerson Royal, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

Royal arrived from Barcelona for £25.8m last summer but has struggled to adapt to life in English football.

Tottenham were hoping that the 23-year-old could finally solve their right-back issue which has existed ever since Kyle Walker left for Manchester City in 2017.

The likes of Kieran Trippier, Serge Aurier, Juan Foyth and Matt Doherty have all tried and failed, although Royal is already on his way to following in the footsteps of those before him.

He has generally been first-choice under both Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte, but Royal’s game-time has been largely down to the fact that Tottenham have had little else in reserve.

According to WhoScored, the Brazilian has been Spurs’ eighth-best player this season, but he’s chipped in with just one assist and has failed to score in his 20 league appearances despite playing in an advanced role under Conte.

And in recent weeks, he’s been in and out the team. He’s found himself on the bench in four of the last seven Premier League games, while Doherty was also preferred for the defeat at Middlesbrough on Tuesday.

Therefore, with Doherty enjoying his best run in the team, O’Rourke believes that Conte isn’t overly convinced by the former Barcelona man.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “I don’t think Conte is a massive fan of Emerson Royal, the right wing-back who arrived from Barcelona last summer.”

Doherty did give a glimpse of what he’s all about by scoring once and assisting another in the recent victory over Leeds, but his good performances haven’t been often enough, which is exactly why Spurs are tracking the likes of Djed Spence and Tino Livramento and hoped to sign