Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold has been speaking on the Gold & Guest talk Tottenham podcast to discuss Antonio Conte’s transfer plans.
Spurs will be two weeks deep into the January transfer window before they play their next Premier League game and Gold believes Conte has a new right wing-back on his list.
Have you been impressed with Emerson Royal?
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The Lilywhites added Emerson Royal in the summer, however, it seems Conte has not been impressed with the Brazilian during the club’s transition to a back three.
In recent days, Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Adama Traore has been linked as a potential January target to address the position, with Wolves believed to be willing to accept around £20m for the Spaniard.
With Spurs narrowing in on the top four, Gold had the following to say on the improvement on the right side Conte is hoping to make over the January window:
“Emerson, I think we’re seeing a player who was very much bought for Nuno [Espirito Santo] – just someone that gets up and down the flank constantly. But as a wing-back, as someone that can beat a man and put in a really good cross, we obviously haven’t seen that yet. He’s 22, so you could probably coach it into him.
“Clearly, Matt Doherty isn’t kind of fancied by Conte and looks like he’s going to head off in the coming weeks. So they are looking for another right wing-back.”
TIF Thoughts on Spurs’ RWB options…
While Doherty may not be in Spurs’ plans at the moment, talk of his potential departure is surely a big signal that Conte is prepared to do what is necessary to create the Tottenham side he wants to manage during this window – despite only being in the job a couple of months.
That attitude is rather justified, as Spurs have turned around their shaky defensive record since Conte arrived at Tottenham back in November, while there are huge question marks over their creativity.
Emerson has just one assist to his name since arriving in the summer, with Japhet Tanganga and Doherty having not fared any better, with zero assists to their name across their handful of appearances.
With just one assist between Conte’s three options at right wing-back, it is not surprising he is looking to add some quality over January.
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