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Fabio Capello’s verdict on how Emerson Royal is getting on at AC Milan after leaving Tottenham
Ange Postecoglou has a few difficult selection decisions ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s EFL Cup quarter-final clash with Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United on Thursday night.
After a much-changed Tottenham thrashed Southampton 5-0 four days earlier – The Saints sacked manager Russell Martin in the aftermath – how many of those will now keep their place when the Red Devils come to town?
Yves Bissouma is back available after his suspension. But, after Lucas Bergvall ran the show against Southampton, the teenage Swede certainly did his chances of more regular minutes no harm at all.
Postecoglou also lauded an ‘outstanding’ Djed Spence performance on the South Coast. The seldom-seen full-back gave Pedro Porro a night off, and produced perhaps his best ever Spurs display while setting up James Maddison’s rapid fire opener.
If Spence can build on this – the £19 million signing from Middlesbrough impressed in pre-season too – perhaps Tottenham will find themselves with two high-quality right-backs at their disposal.
AC Milan, in contrast, can only dream of a footballer of Porro’s quality on the flank.
There is a reason why Emerson Royal lost his place almost immediately after Porro arrived from Sporting Lisbon. And, after AC Milan offered Emerson a route out of Tottenham over the summer, the dearth of technical qualities which saw the Brazilian struggle to convince in North London are once again under the spotlight.
AC Milan criticised after signing Emerson Royal from Tottenham Hotspur
Legendary Milan boss Fabio Capello recalls the work of iconic Rossoneri director Ariedo Braida when watching those new faces struggle to convince in red and black.
He certainly cannot envisage a player like Emerson Royal arriving at the San Siro during Braida’s 27-year spell working behind the scenes.
“Let’s ask ourselves two questions; who made the decisions? And, above all, were the choices made in agreement with Paulo Fonseca, the coach?,” Capello wonders, speaking to .
“My impression is that, on certain signings, no thoughtful footballing evaluations were made and even less were the needs of the Portuguese coach listened to.
“When I say thoughtful football evaluations, Ariedo Braida – a manager of extraordinary competence -always comes to mind. Braida was not only exceptional in understanding the level of a player, but above all he knew what it meant to play for Milan.
“I always remember his jokes; ‘Is he fit for San Siro?’.”
Fabio Capello says former Spurs defender is not ‘a Milan player’
Emerson has started 12 out of 15 Serie A matches thus far, Milan winning only six of those while falling 14 points behind leaders Atalanta.
Milan have endured plenty of ribbing after bringing in Emerson for a fee of around £13 million. And a footballer who became a figure of fun in harsher sections of social media during his time in England is now facing an uphill battle to disprove his doubters in Italy too.
“Emerson Royal doesn’t seem like a Milan player to me,” Capello adds.
“It’s a purchase I wouldn’t have made, because it doesn’t improve you in an area of the pitch where you already had [Davide] Calabria, the young [Alex] Jimenez and, if you wanted, [Pierre] Kalulu, who would have been useful as a centre-back.
“I [do] think that a right-back was needed. But, if you buy one, you have to level up. And you didn’t do that with the Brazilian.”