Tottenham man must be pulling his hair out over two incidents during 2-0 defeat – Our View

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Last night, Tottenham were stunned in the Champions League as two late goals from Sporting Lisbon saw the Portuguese giants nick a vital win in Group D.

A number of Spurs players struggled to make an impact, including Emerson Royal once again, and after yet another strange display from the Brazilian, we believe Djed Spence will be pulling his hair out.

What’s the story?

Well, the England Under-21 international has played just one minute of Premier League football since his £20m move from Middlesbrough in July, as he struggles to dislodge Emerson Royal from the starting XI.

Now, however, Antonio Conte needs to give Spence a chance, with two incidents in particular under the spotlight.

Firstly, there was one second-half moment in which the Brazil international had plenty of time on the ball to make a decision in a promising area.

Emerson could’ve surged into the space down the right before cutting the ball back, or – as you can see below – there was a pass on for Dejan Kulusevski which would’ve put the Swede in a promising position. However, the South American eventually punted an aimless ball into the hands of Antonio Adán.

Then, in regards to the defensive side of his game, Emerson was embarrassed as Arthur Gomes nutmegged him inside the box, before slotting Sporting Lisbon’s second goal of the game beyond Hugo Lloris.

Conte’s system relies tremendously on the quality of the wing-back areas, so it baffles us that he continues to persist with Emerson, who struggles with attacking as well as defending.

Amazingly, the 23-year-old has started Tottenham’s last 17 games under the Italian, and having failed to make an impact in that time, Spence deserves a chance to replace him.

Djed Spence can thrive at Tottenham

In our view, Spence is made for Conte’s system. The 22-year-old boasts impressive technical ability, and he is also capable of racking up the goal involvements from the right flank.

In 50 appearances for Nottingham Forest last term, the Londoner scored three goals and also provided five assists, whereas Emerson only scored once and assisted one other.

If Conte continues to persist with Emerson when such a bright talent in Spence is sitting on the bench twiddling his thumbs, Tottenham fans surely won’t be happy.