Can Tottenham Hotspur really improve on Emerson at right wing-back?

Who are the wing-backs in the conversation for Tottenham?

There is no shortage of names out there floating around, especially on Twitter, where everyone from Adama Troure through Kierran Trippier has been connected with a move to Spurs.  The Traore move is one HotspurHQ has already addressed – Adama Traore – read Gary Pearson’s column here – but many of the other names have not, so who are they, and can they really improve the Tottenham team?

Tariq Lamptey – Brighton’s British Boy

One of the first names linked with Tottenham – even before Conte and Emerson’s arrival – is that of Tariq Lamptey. Ever since Lamptey torched Spurs last season, fans have been interested in the diminutive wide-man.

Lighting quick and willing to take on defenders, you can understand the interest in Lamptey. That said, there is little beyond his speed that one can say Lamptey is really great at.

Only about the size of Lucas Moura, Lamptey is often manhandled by bigger players and struggles in the air. As a result of the physicality he often faces, Lamptey commits more fouls than you would like and like another young wide player at Spurs – Ryan Sessegnon – struggles with injuries.

Last season Lamptey missed more than 20 Premier League matches and has already missed at least four this season with a lingering hamstring issue. It was a hamstring issue that started Dele’s decline and he was not even dependent upon speed. With likely an inflated price for being British and a history of injuries, Lamptey is probably not the wing-back Spurs need.

Joakim Maehle – Back to Atalanta again?

Another name you see popping up as someone to play wing-back for Tottenham is Joakim Maehle of Atalanta. What makes Maehle particularly interesting is the fact that the 24-year-old Danish man can play equally well on the left or the right.

Given Spurs’ lack of depth on both sides, signing a player that can swing to either wing seems like a good move on the surface.

Maehle is more of an attacking wide-man who is better than average at creating shooting opportunities, despite not really being a strong crosser of the ball. Add in that Maehle is not really a strong defender and it seems Tottenham can do better.

Spurs already have a couple of players that fans want to upgrade so they can see better service, and we just went through the circus defensively with Serge Aurier, and with that in mind, it is unlikely that Maehle is really an improvement.

Sergino Dest – Back to Barcelona again?

After finding some measure of success in helping Barcelona through its financial difficulties, in signing Royal, Tottenham could maybe do the same again with the signing of Sergino Dest. A small, quick, skillful player who can operate in tight spaces, Dest could be a viable alternative to Royal for Spurs.

An international for the United States, Dest has spent a large portion of his short 21-year-old life training in the Ajax academy. Moving through the ranks of De Toekomst from the youth through to the first team, Dest is an educated and experienced footballer. It was an outstanding 2019/20 season at Ajax, when Dest scored two and assisted six in all competitions, which caught the attention of Barcelona.

Already with three goals and four assists in his season and a half at Barcelona, the American is the ready-made attacking threat that Royal is not. Alternatively, Emerson’s natural abilities as a defender far exceed those of Dest whose calling card is his ability to get forward.

Contracted until 2025, Dest could be a difficult get although his current value of about $20million (£16.25m), according to transfermarkt.com,  is something well within reason for Spurs. Although not likely given we already took Emerson from Barca, but definitely one that could help more on the attacking end.

Baku Ridle – The right alternative to Royal?

Ridle Baku of Wolfsburg is an excellent, pacey, attacking wide player who can also play some right back. Along the lines of moving Traore to wing-back, Baku does have an end-product, with 10 goals and 10 assists in his season and a half at Wolfsburg.

Instinctive defensively, Baku is an excellent tackler who can read the game well and break-up play as a result.  Not the dribbler or the player that carries the ball the way Royal does, Baku, like a young Dele Alli, seems to just pop up at the right time in the right place in Germany.

23 and nearing his 100th appearance in the Bundesliga, Baku seems like a player who is ready to take his next step. Although contracted until 2025 and valued at  $27.5million (£20.3m) according to transfermarkt.com, Baku will not come cheap and will take some settling but could provide a nice alternative to Royal for the foreseeable future.