Antonio Conte has revealed that he remains happy with Emerson Royal at right-wing-back for Tottenham, claiming that he has improved a lot from last season.
The Brazilian has started at right-wing-back for Spurs in all eight of their matches this season across all competitions, with Matt Doherty and Djed Spence left waiting in the wings.
Ryan Sessegnon already has a goal to his name from left-wing-back this season (TransferMarkt) and Ivan Perisic has recorded three assists in eight matches (TransferMarkt).
However, Emerson Royal, who has more starts than both of these players, only has a single assist to show for his efforts this season (TransferMarkt).
Despite this, Conte claims Emerson could have scored three goals against Sporting Lisbon from the positions he put himself into. Although, he did hint that the Brazilian may now be feeling some fatigue after starting eight in a row.
He said (Football London): “In my opinion, Emerson had a good start in this season and he can play in this position. I’m happy with him.
“He could have scored three goals in the last game. He has improved a lot since last season. Don’t forget Emerson played every game in this period, for sure now he can be a bit tired. As a full-back you can be fatigued.”
Spurs Web Opinion:
I agree with Conte that Emerson has improved and the timing of his runs down the right is now really impressive… but it counts for little when he clearly lacks the killer instinct to be effective in the final third. A very good player, but not a right-wing back, that’s all.
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