Emerson Royal has opened up on his short career at Tottenham Hotspur so far, following his transfer to North London from Spain in the summer.
The 22-year-old joined Spurs from Barcelona on Deadline Day in August and has already seemingly cemented himself a regular place in the side’s line-up under Antonio Conte.
The defender has been deployed as a right wing-back within Conte’s trusted 3-4-3 formation, which is just one of the aspects the Italian has sought to change since his arrival at the club.
Emerson has found himself to be one of the side’s bright sparks since the change of system with his energy up and down the wing getting him into threatening positions going forward.
The Brazil international feels his aggressive attacking style of play can help him to thrive in Conte’s system, but reiterated the importance of the whole squad binding together to be successful.
He also singled out Spurs team-mate and talisman Harry Kane as someone he looks out for in the box whenever he ventures forward, citing the striker’s natural goal-scoring ability as something to take advantage of.
Emerson told Sky Sports: “Everyone in the team has an important role in the system we are playing. I have to be aggressive when I’m attacking.
MORE SPURS STORIES
“Going forward I always try to look for Harry Kane but when there is a goalscorer like him he can be marked by one or two defenders. It’s not easy but I’m always looking for him.”
While the Spurs squad are still getting to grips with the methods of former Inter Milan boss Conte, the Italian has constantly reiterated what it means to ‘suffer’ when it comes to seeing improvement from the players.
Emerson already understands what Conte means regarding the term and is confident it can lead the side to success going forward.
He added: “We are learning what it means to suffer! We know that Conte is super competitive and if we suffer that is the path to success.”
Emerson, who is still settling into life in North London, joins a host of teammates with knowledge of Portuguese and Spanish who are already helping him along the way as he continues to learn English.
“Lucas [Moura] is mainly helping me with my English but Lo Celso and Reguilon are too. I’m listening to a lot of English music to learn the language. I don’t know the names of the bands but there are four or five songs I enjoy.”
Spurs Web Opinion
While it is still a period of settling in for Emerson, he looks pretty comfortable so far and he will only get better as time goes on. His performances have been encouraging and he should progress under Conte and his system.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
