Report: Perisic most likely to start at right wing-back for Spurs vs Brighton

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Ivan Perisic is the player most likely to start at right wing-back for Tottenham Hotspur’s clash with Brighton this weekend following Emerson Royal’s North London derby red card, The Athletic suggests.

The right wing-back role has been a contentious issue so far this term. Perhaps surprisingly, Royal has been first-choice for Antonio Conte despite Matt Doherty enjoying a good run of form late last season and Djed Spence joining the club in the summer.

Royal has his limitations, particularly in a Conte system. The Brazilian does not make anything like enough of an impact in the final third. Nevertheless, the Italian’s faith has been unwavering.

Perisic most likely to start at right wing-back

However, Royal is unavailable for Saturday’s trip to the south coast after picking up a red card last weekend.

Some may have expected Spence or Doherty to get an opportunity while Royal is suspended. However, The Athletic suggests that Perisic is most likely move over against the Seagulls.

That may not be a huge surprise. Conte hinted that he felt that neither Spence or Doherty are in the right place to start games this week – in comments reported by Football London.

Perisic has been a good performer since his arrival in the summer. And he is very comfortable using both feet, so Spurs may not lose a lot using the ‘amazing‘ Croatian on that side of the field.

It does seem a little ominous for Spence and Doherty that either are not obvious options to come in.

Royal has hardly been setting the world alight with his form in the early weeks of the season. So the bar is not incredibly high.

Of course, Doherty had a serious injury late last season. And Spence is inexperienced at the highest level. However, both posses a lot of quality. So it is somewhat concerning from the outside that Conte is not convinced by either right now.