Tottenham are closing in on the signing of Barcelona defender Emerson Royal, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Over the weekend, we relayed word from Romano claiming Barcelona had rejected a swap deal involving Emerson and Serge Aurier.
But now it seems Spurs are close to striking a deal for Emerson without having to include Aurier.
Romano, who is always reliable when it comes to transfers, says the clubs are negotiating a fee that should end up at around €30 million.
Tottenham and Barcelona are now close to reach an agreement for Emerson, as per @gbsans. Fee will be around €30m but negotiations are not completed yet ⚪️ #THFC #FCB
Serge Aurier won’t be involved in the deal. Personal terms still to be agreed. NO negotiations for Moriba-Spurs.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 30, 2021
Tottenham probably wanted to pay less for the 22-year-old and shift Aurier as part of the deal, but that clearly isn’t going to be the case.
All of which means Spurs could soon have a surplus of right-backs at the club, with Emerson potentially joining Aurier, Matt Doherty and Japhet Tanganga.
Tanganga is a centre-back currently playing on the right, so perhaps he will return to the middle of the defence if Emerson signs.
But that would still mean either Aurier or Doherty would get very little game time – surely Tottenham will make strong efforts to move one of them on before the transfer deadline.
