Alasdair Gold has criticised Tottenham Hotspur fullback Emerson Royal following his display in Spurs’ latest friendly against Sevilla.
The North London club were pegged back to a draw. After initially taking the lead through Harry Kane, it was Ivan Rakitic’s strike which levelled the score midway through the second-half.
Following the game, Gold gave his player ratings for Football London, saying: “Combined with Tanganga to stop a Sevilla shot on target. Still doesn’t offer enough going forward for a wing-back.”
Gold then went onto give Royal an average score of six, as he was clearly not impressed with the fullback following his display.
TIF Thoughts on Emerson Royal…
When you look at that Spurs side, they don’t have too many weaknesses, but, one they do have, is Royal. The right wing-back made just 22 interceptions last season in the Premier League, which is significantly more than his opposite number Sergio Reguilon, who managed to make an impressive 63.
It is a position that Spurs may regret not strengthening so far this summer. And the fact that he didn’t show any improvements going forward against Sevilla – according to Gold – makes it hard to find a positive in Royal’s overall play.
From Antonio Conte’s perspective, he will just hope that, come August, his side are ready to go, and are firing on all cylinders. If they’re not, then they could risk falling behind in the battle for top four race, which is the last thing that they need. They’ve still got a month to prepare for the start of the season, however.