Journalist Dean Jones has claimed that Antonio Conte will have to field Ivan Perisic ahead of Emerson Royal at wing-back for Tottenham Hotspur going forward.
There seems to be plenty of uncertainty around the right side of the Spurs’ defence at the moment. Indeed, summer signing Djed Spence has hardly played, while Matt Doherty was ruthlessly put down earlier in the season by his manager.
For the most part, Emerson has been trusted as the regular option, but he has let the team down at times this season – and Jones believes Conte has finally had enough.
Indeed, while speaking about the Tottenham situation on Chasing Green Arrows, the journalist suggested that Perisic will mainly be starting ahead of the Brazilian from now on, with Ryan Sessegnon playing on the left.
He said: “Perisic is gonna have to play because Tottenham can’t really persist with playing Emerson Royal, can they, at right-back? So they’re gonna have to play him on the right and keep playing Sessegnon on the left, because he’s [Emerson] just not good enough.”
TIF Thoughts on Ivan Perisic and Spurs…
During the weekend, Emerson really had a day to forget for Spurs. Indeed, he was slammed in the media for his display against Bournemouth and came off before Conte’s men eventually managed to turn the game around.
Incidentally, in that match, Sessegnon scored from his wing-back role to set off the comeback, and Perisic came on for Emerson to help turn the momentum of things Spurs’ way.
Seeing as how things played out, it’s easy to see why Conte may feel as though the two that finished that game may be his best wing-back options from now on in the Premier League and other competitions.
With multiple options in defence, it will certainly be interesting to see if the Italian keeps persisting with Emerson or if he’s finally had enough and will trust Perisic in that role.
Would you start Ivan Perisic over Emerson Royal?
Yes
No
