‘Not good enough’: Paul Merson calls for Conte to replace Spurs star

According to Paul Merson, Tottenham Hotspur defender Emerson Royal is simply not good enough for Antonio Conte’s team.

Spurs paid £25.7 million to sign the Brazilian defender from Barcelona last year, but he has failed to live up to the expectations and has been a disappointment.

The 23-year-old Brazilian has been on the receiving end of a barrage of criticism over the past year and after last weekend’s sending-off for the nasty tackle on Gabriel Martinelli, the reproval has only increased.

In his column for Sportskeeda, Paul Merson blamed Emerson Royal for Tottenham’s heavy defeat to arch-rivals Arsenal in the North London derby and called for Conte to consider replacing the right wing-back. He wrote:

“I don’t know what Emerson Royal was doing, he’s not good enough and his side were embarrassed by their local rivals owing to his red card.

“Emerson Royal is not good enough and tends to struggle badly when he’s off it. I like Ivan Perisic, but he isn’t getting any younger, so Conte has a thing or two to think about.” 

Conte’s system is heavily reliant on wing-backs, and while Spurs has enough quality on the left side in Perisic and Sessegnon, the Italian manager might need to strengthen the right wing-back position in January.