Tottenham Hotspur have struck a deal for Barcelona defender Emerson Royal – but he is having to be convinced into joining the North London side.
That’s according to Spanish newspaper Marca, who claim that Emerson would prefer to stay at Barcelona rather than join Tottenham.
It’s claimed that Tottenham have agreed a deal for Emerson having had a first bid for the Brazilian rejected ‘a few days ago’.
Barcelona weren’t thinking of selling, but the fee has apparently become too good to turn down, with the Catalan giants seeing this as a way to make a quick profit.
The potential problem is that Barcelona are now having to convince Emerson to leave the club, as he would prefer to stay at the Camp Nou.
It’s stated that Emerson believed he would be playing for Barcelona’s first team this season, having waited more than two years for Barca to lure him away from Real Betis thanks to a co-ownership agreement.
Emerson wasn’t looking to leave the Camp Nou, but Barca’s financial situation is so perilous that they now want Emerson to join Tottenham before the deadline.
This all goes against what Tuttomercatoweb report, as they state that Tottenham have an agreement in place with Emerson whilst Sky Sports claim he is keen on a move to Spurs.
If we had to guess, we would suggest that Emerson will end up being a Tottenham player in the end, but there could be some twists and turns yet.
For instance, Tottenham may need Serge Aurier to move on in order to get Emerson in, with Fabio Paratici working hard on both ins and outs.
Ultimately though, Emerson has the likes of Sergino Dest and Sergi Roberto challenging him at Barcelona, whereas he would likely be first choice at Tottenham.
Emerson should be jumping at the chance to join Tottenham, as he should enjoy a much bigger role there whilst also featuring prominently in the project Paratici is creating.
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