Multiple reports indicate that Tottenham have rejected a £21.4m offer from Al-Nassr for Brazilian right-back Emerson Royal.
According to The Standard, the club might be open to a sale, but only for "big money" offers. The outlet have also claimed that Tottenham considered the bid to be "derisory" with Emerson's positional versatility a highly-valued attribute in Ange's system.
🚨🥇| Al-Nassr are considering an improved offer for Emerson Royal, but #Tottenham would only sell the Brazil defender for big money this month, as they’re not keen on losing the player mid-season. Al-Nassr had an opening bid in the region of £20million for Emerson rejected by… pic.twitter.com/SfNEIqzqT4
— The Spurs Express (@TheSpursExpress) January 22, 2024
With the exception of Pedro Porro, who's been phenomenal this season, Spurs have struggled with recruiting right-backs since the exit of Kieran Trippier in 2019.
Other options in full-back include Djed Spence, brought in permanently from Middlesborough July of 2022, and Japhet Tanganga. Both players, however, are currently out on loan; Spence at Genoa and Tanganga with Millwall.
At this crucial point in the middle of the season amongst an extremely injury-prone squad, it clearly doesn't make sense for Spurs to accept an offer for the player, unless of course a team is willing to offer the before-mentioned "big money" which might be used to reinvest in a more befitting option for the club before the close of the January window. However, a move of that sort seems unlikely with Tottenham's transfer priority in midfielders and attacking wingers.
Ever since leaving Real Betis in 2021, the player has found decent playing time in North London, although that has dwindled in recent times with increased competition from other players like Porro. Nevertheless, it seems that Spurs' stance on the player is clear: only a sufficiently large purchase price would justify losing a player in such a crucial area of the pitch at this stage in the season.