Tottenham defender Emerson Royal is Inter Milan’s main target as they seek a potential replacement for Denzel Dumfries.
That’s according to Corriere dello Sport, who say the Brazilian is ‘back on pole’ on the Italian side’s list of possible targets.
They explain that Inter once again find themselves needing to raise money before June to cover a ‘substantial surplus’ in their accounts.
Someone will have to be sold to help this and the strongest candidate at the moment is Dumfries, who has been impressing again this season and has suitors.
Chelsea are one of them and the ‘hope’ of those in charge at Viale Liberazione is that they can convince the Blues to make a move in the January transfer window but leave Dumfries on loan until the end of the season.
They want to collect more than €40m for the Dutchman, part of which they could then use to source a replacement and their eye is on Tottenham’s Emerson.
His name ‘popped up again’ amid discussions about a replacement for Dumfries, with his name having stuck around at the club after they were close to signing him to replace Achraf Hakimi in 2021.
He ended up at Tottenham in a €25m deal but he has struggled to impress since Antonio Conte’s arrival at the club.
He is a starter under the Italian but that is because of necessity rather than choice, with a lack of options in the squad forcing the Italian to stick with Emerson despite criticising him behind the scenes.
The reality, though, is that it is difficult to imagine the defender staying at Tottenham beyond the summer and Inter are looking to take advantage of that.
Their margins for a deal remain slim so they are going to seek a loan deal with a ‘conditional redemption.’ In simpler terms, a loan with an option to buy rather than an obligation.
Inter believe that may be a complicated deal to get over the line but there is a feeling they can get it done, taking advantage of Emerson’s difficult relationship with Conte to get him out of Tottenham.
