Nuno Espirito Santo is set to give Emerson Royal his debut in a Spurs shirt tomorrow, following the Brazilian defender’s deadline day move from Barcelona for £22 million.
The selection means Japhet Tanganga is likely to start alongside Eric Dier in defence as Davinson Sanchez and Cristian Romero are currently stuck in Croatia as they quarantine before heading back to London.
The day after @SpursOfficial birthday, I proudly arrived at this club, that welcomed me with arms wide open!
I am very grateful and will give it back, for sure, with all my strenght 💙 pic.twitter.com/w960glDnkS— Emerson Royal (@Emerson_Royal22) September 6, 2021
Matt Doherty is the other option to start at right-back, but with Emerson already match-fit having played for Barcelona at the start of this season – and being seen as someone who can be an important player for the club by Fabio Paratici, it’s quite likely that the new signing will be thrust straight into the first team.
Over the last two seasons, Emerson impressed for Real Betis, featuring 67 times in the La Liga, scoring four times and registering a further ten assists as he established himself as one of the most exciting prospects in the Spanish top flight.
Royal. 🤴 pic.twitter.com/uFzgZLmXpZ
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 7, 2021
Despite showing his new club nothing but love and excitement to play for the badge, the Brazilian wasn’t happy that Barcelona wanted to sell him so soon after buying him permanently from Betis.
“I thought that the club wanted me to stay,” he told Marca. “I played the Sunday as a starter, they day after I woke up and I went to training relaxed.
“There I already started to see that there were many things happening, that Tottenham spoke with Barcelona, that they had almost done it.
😁 Matchday 🔜 pic.twitter.com/Hp8bVy2oTg
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 10, 2021
“I didn’t understand anything that was happening because I didn’t know anything.
“By the afternoon, the club called me because they wanted to speak with me and there they told me they wanted to sell.”