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Emerson Royal insight: Scouting report, stats, transfer rating and more

Originally posted on SempreMilan | By Oliver Fisher | Last updated Aug 15, 2024 1:30 PM ET

AC Milan got their third signing of the summer transfer window over the line earlier this week as the official announcement of Emerson Royal’s arrival came.

The move was talked about for weeks and was confirmed on Monday night. It was also announced that he will be under contract with the Rossoneri until June 30, 2028 and there is an option for another year after that.

The 25-year-old right-back was pursued by Milan for much of the summer transfer window but the two clubs struggled to agree on the transfer fee. However, Fonseca has finally got the reinforcement he wanted, and he will challenge Davide Calabria for a starting spot.

There are some concerns about the fact the arrives after a down year with Spurs, so what can fans expect from Emerson Royal? Our writer Rohit Rajeev has done a deep dive.

Background

Born in São Paulo (Brazil) on 14 January 1999, Emerson Royal started his career playing youth football for Ponte Preta, with whom he made his first-team debut in February 2017.

He made 25 appearances and scored one goal for them, and just a year after his debut he joined Atlético Mineiro in 2018, where he made 23 appearances and one goal before attracting interest from Europe.

Emerson made his debut for the club on 19 May 2018, not long after turning 19, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 victory over rivals Cruzeiro. His first top flight goal came on 30 September of that year.

His performances quickly attracted interest from Europe and on the final day of the January window in 2019 Atlético announced the transfer of Emerson to Barcelona, which would become effective as of July 2019, for €12.7m (via Wiki).

The intriguing thing was that it involved Barcelona and fellow LaLiga side Real Betis, meaning each club paid half of the transfer fee and retained a percentage of Emerson’s economic rights. Betis got him in July 2019, but Barcelona held the option to pay €6m to reacquire him in 2021.

The full-back became a regular starter for the Andalusian club and that season he notched nine goal contributions in 34 appearances. When June 2021 came around, Barca used their option to sign him, though he wouldn’t be staying there.

On the final day of the 2021 summer window, Spurs signed Emerson on a five-year deal for a reported €30m fee. He scored his first goal for the London club in a 5–1 home win against Newcastle United, but in October 2022 he was sent off in the North London Derby for a foul on Gabriel Martinelli.

Royal established himself as a starter under Antonio Conte, but then when he left and Ange Postecoglou arrived – as well as Pedro Porro from Sporting CP – he ended up playing mostly as a back-up.

He filled in as a starter at left-back and centre-back as well due to an injury crisis, but by the end of the 2023-24 campaign he was a bit-part player and this led to widespread suggestions that he would depart for pastures new.

In terms of his international exploits, Emerson was first spotted by Brazil and called up for the U20 team for the 2017 Toulon Tournament. He was the main right-back at the 2019 South American U20 Championship and the 2019 Toulon Tournament, winning the latter with the U23s.

He finally made his senior international debut for his country on 19 November 2019, coming off the bench in a 3–0 victory over South Korea. Further call-ups came in May 2021, then he was summoned for the Copa América, making his major tournament tournament debut on 17 June.

Since then, the defender has made six appearances for his country to reach 10 in total, with three of those being in 2023 and the most recent being in November of that year, when he played 90 minutes in a 1-0 loss to Argentina.

This article first appeared on SempreMilan and was syndicated with permission.

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