Former Tottenham right-back Alan Hutton has urged recent signing Emerson Royal to ‘learn quickly’ following a difficult debut against Wilfred Zaha and Crystal Palace on Saturday.
It was a baptism of fire for the Brazilian who was up against one of the Premier League’s most tricky wingers, with Zaha causing countless problems down Tottenham’s right-hand side, completing seven dribbles and ten progressive ball carries throughout the game.
The 22-year-old’s next taste of top flight action could see the former Barcelona man come up against Chelsea in North London on Saturday, who have an abundance of attacking talent at their disposal.
Hutton warned the Brazilian international that he needs to be able to adapt quickly to the rigours of plying his trade in England and will have to show he is the complete defender with an ability to defend, along with proving to be useful in the final third of the pitch.
Hutton told Football Insider: “That’s a difficult game to be thrown into – he’s just signed, he’s a foreign player – new country, new language.
“He’s going to have to learn and learn quick. This is a higher level, it’s the best league in the world.
“He’ll have to do both sides. He’ll have to get forward and attack as well as defending really well.”
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Spurs Web opinion:
While Emerson did struggle at times on Saturday, it is too early to have any concern about him.
He only arrived in England during the week of the match and would have had a handful of training sessions with his new team-mates before being thrown in the deep end.
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