Emerson Royal’s transfer to Tottenham has not really panned out well for either the player or the team. There have been fleeting moments of quality, accompanied by instances of a lack of it.
Just look at the recent failed attempt of a no-look pass that attracted a lot of flak.
Bought in the 2021 summer window for a little over £25 million, the player is yet to put in a consistent run of good performances. He has been subject to a lot of inquiry on social media, with fans asking manager Antonio Conte to replace him with someone else.
Conte though has persisted with the right back over the course of last season and this.
The Brazilian has recorded only 1 goal and 2 assists in his 59 outings for the London side. Needless to say, a top-club fullback needs to do a lot more than this.
His play in the attacking third needs to be improved, for it is not for a lack of trying that the player cannot get on the scoresheet.
In the Premier League match played against Bournemouth yesterday, Spurs were chasing for much of the game and had a chance to equalize in the 40th minute after Kieffer Moore had put the Cherries in front earlier.
After a defensive header by Mings, the ball looped in the air, and Emerson latched on to it in the box, swirling and shooting it on a half-volley.
Now, we do not expect all players, let alone defenders, to get this on target or hit it with any sort of conviction. But there are still certain expectations from a player playing at the very top level of the sport.
Emerson’s shot though did not just go over the bar, it went over the stands and into the parking lot.
It’s not hyperbole! Look for yourself.
Sure, Vitality is the smallest stadium in the league, but that’s no excuse.
Incredible.
9 minutes later, Moore made it 2-0 to the hosts.
While one fullback was making a joke out of himself, the other one, Ryan Sessegnon did the opposite, getting a goal back in the 57th minute to give some hope to the traveling fans.
The Brazilian was replaced with Ivan Perisic shortly after the hour mark, and 10 minutes later, provided an assist to Ben Davies to level the scoresheet.
Spurs went on to win 3-2 thanks to an injury-time winner by Rodrigo Bentancur.
Is it really a surprise that Spurs scored two goals only after Emerson was removed, we don’t think so.
There have been calls for Conte to ditch the Brazilian in favor of summer signing Djed Spence. Spence has virtually had no minutes this season but at this rate, Emerson is forcing his manager’s hand.
Spurs have two important and difficult fixtures coming up. They first go to Marseille to secure the Champions League knock-out round and then entertain Liverpool for Premier League.
Will we see the Englishman start over Royal in the coming matches? Spurs fans sure hope so.
