Tottenham Hotspur right-back Emerson Royal has been branded as a “liability.”
That is the opinion of talkSPORT presenter and pundit Jamie O’Hara, who was giving his verdict and value on the current members of Antonio Conte’s squad on TikTok.
Royal has come in for criticism over the past few weeks for his performances, and was sent off in Spurs’ 3-1 north London derby defeat at the Emirates Stadium at the start of the month.
The 23-year-old signed for the Lilywhites in August 2021 for £25.8m from Barcelona on a five-year deal, but the full-back is already feeling the pressure from Spurs fans.
And O’Hara has said that he would pay someone to get the right-back out of the club, suggesting that Royal is facing a losing battle to win over fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“I would pay someone to take him off our hands,” O’Hara said on talkSPORT Edge.
“I’ll give you £5m to get rid of this liability.”
TIF Thoughts on O’Hara’s comments
Whilst we agree that Royal, who was called ‘dreadful’ for his mistake against Arsenal, has had a particularly poor start to the season, it is clear to see that Conte doesn’t trust either Matt Doherty or Djed Spence to play on a regular basis in place of the Brazilian when fit and available.
However, the former did play in the Lilywhites’ 1-0 victory at Brighton and Hove Albion this weekend, and helped the north London side keep a clean sheet as they recovered from last weekend’s derby defeat.
Therefore, we think that Royal’s time at the club may be numbered, if Conte has changed his mind on Doherty, and continues to play the 29-time Republic of Ireland international, when the former is available after suspension.