Report: Tottenham eye Emerson Royal – Denzel Dumfries swap deal

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According to CalcioMercato.it, Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Inter Milan defender Denzel Dumfries in January.

Antonio Conte is desperate to strengthen his squad in the winter window, and right wing-back is one area that Spurs really need to improve to achieve their goals this season.

If the report is to be believed, Dumfries is the man Conte wants at Spurs.

Tottenham eye Emerson Royal – Denzel Dumfries swap deal

Emerson Royal joined Tottenham last year from Barcelona in a move that really excited fans. The Brazilian was a solid right-back in La Liga, but since his move to England, he has been really poor.

Conte has used Emerson often in his side. He’s Spurs’ first-choice right wing-back more often than not, but the report claims that the Italian is just not getting the right answers from him. He has not been convincing at all.

As a result, Conte wants Tottenham to sign Dumfries from Inter in January.

The Dutchman is a lot more suited to a right wing-back role than Emerson. He has been a fine player in Italy since he joined Inter last year, so much so that the Nerazzurri reportedly value him at around £43.8 million.

That’s a lot of money for a full-back and is probably beyond Spurs’ reach in the winter window. That is why the report claims Conte is willing to include Emerson in the deal to bring the fee down.

The Brazilian cost Spurs £25.8 million last year (BBC), and although that valuation has definitely come down, he’s still worth a decent amount of money thanks to his age.

TBR View:

Emerson is not a bad player at all, but is he really a perfect fit for Conte’s system of wing-backs? We don’t think so.

The Brazilian is decent in attack, but he has struggled defensively. He makes far too many errors and often lacks the right balance between attack and defence.

Dumfries would be an excellent replacement for Emerson. He’s a good player at both ends of the pitch, and under a manager like Conte, he could really take his game to the next level.

It will be interesting to see if Spurs can get rid of Emerson and bring in Dumfries in the same deal. It will not be easy, but if they can pull it off, it could prove to be an incredible bit of business.