Antonio Conte has defended Emerson Royal amid criticism of Spurs star

Add as preferred source on Google

Antonio Conte has defended Emerson Royal and suggested that he is happy with the form the Tottenham Hotspur wing-back has shown this season – in comments reported by Football London.

Emerson has come in for some criticism from many for much of his spell with Spurs. His first season at the club was clearly incredibly difficult for the Brazilian.

He appeared to improve as the campaign went on. Nevertheless, he was heavily linked with a move away in the summer.

However, he ultimately stayed put. And actually, he made a bright start to the campaign after surprisingly getting the chance to be first-choice for Conte’s men.

But that has not stopped the criticism. Emerson has never really managed to offer enough in the final third given how important the wing-backs are to Conte’s system.

And he endured a miserable time against Sporting in the Champions League this week. With Djed Spence and Matt Doherty waiting in the wings, some Tottenham fans will be imploring Conte to make a change before this weekend.

But the Italian has defended the 23-year-old and suggested that he has been pleased with him.

“In my opinion Emerson had a good start in this season and he can play in this position. I’m happy with him,” he said, as reported by Football London.

“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.”

Conte has defended Emerson Royal

Emerson has improved since he arrived at Tottenham. And he deserves real credit for coming back from the brink of seemingly leaving the club in the summer.

And he is still a young player. So he may well improve further.

The worry is that some aspects of his game are not moving forward. Criticism about his impact in the final third has come his way throughout his time in North London.

But clearly, Conte is still seeing enough from the defender.