Paul Robinson believes Matt Doherty could leave Tottenham during the January transfer window after the club snapped up Emerson Royal from Barcelona on deadline day.
With Emerson’s arrival and Tottenham agreeing to terminate Serge Aurier’s contract, Nuno Espirito Santo has three right-back options at his disposal in Emerson, Doherty and Tanganga.
Tanganga has started the season in impressive form and helped Spurs to keep three clean sheets on the bounce in the Premier League while Doherty has had to be content with starts in the Europa Conference League against Pacos De Ferreira.
Reports during the final days of the transfer window indicated that Spurs were open to cashing in on the Republic of Ireland international but that did not come to pass.
Robinson admitted that he is surprised Nuno has not handed more opportunities to the 29-year-old, having got the best out of him at Wolves.
When asked whether Doherty could leave the club, the former Spurs number one told Football Insider: “Yeah, possibly.
“It depends what system the manager wants to play really. It is really surprising actually, Nuno relied on him at Wolves.
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“Clearly, it hasn’t worked for him at Tottenham whether it was under Jose or Nuno.
“He hasn’t played to the level we expect. Whether he does get the opportunity with Tanganga and Emerson ahead of him, it may be that he moves on in January.
“It looks like Nuno is using a four, not a five, which could mean his chances are limited going forward.”
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Nuno will likely deploy different systems over the course of the season but with Emerson’s arrival, it is difficult to see Doherty getting too much game time. If the Portuguese coach chooses to deploy a back three, he will likely turn to the Brazilian to play as a wing-back.
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