Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur have reached an agreement on Emerson Royal, Fabrizio Romano reports. The 22-year-old right-back will make the switch to England in a deal worth thirty million euros. Only a personal agreement separates Emerson from a transfer to Tottenham for the time being, but he does have his choice for the Spurs already made.
Sky Sports reported that Arsenal were also interested in Emerson’s services, but he himself has dropped his choice on Tottenham. The Spurs have now reached an agreement with Barcelona, after it was reported earlier in the day that an agreement was imminent. Emerson will provide the Catalans with a total of thirty million euros – an amount that already includes the bonuses.
Although the right back started in the starting lineup against Getafe (2-1 win) on Sunday, Ronald Koeman seems to be able to live with his departure. Emerson gives Barcelona the necessary financial air, while Koeman has sufficient alternatives on the right wing with Sergiño Dest, Sergi Roberto and Òscar Mingueza.
Emerson was acquired by Barcelona in 2019 for twelve million euros from Atlético Mineiro and immediately loaned to Betis for two seasons. That arrangement included that Betis was entitled to a share of the resale percentage for Emerson. Barcelona bought off that clause by transferring nine million euros to Betis this summer. Emerson played in the first three league games this season, two of which briefly as a substitute. Those were immediately all his matches in the Barcelona shirt.
At the same time, Barcelona is also saying goodbye to Ilaix Moriba, who has reached an agreement with RB Leipzig. The German club will pay a fixed transfer fee of fifteen million euros – which can still increase due to bonuses – for the eighteen-year-old midfielder, with whom Barcelona could not reach an agreement on extending his contract until 2022. Moriba had already set his sights on a transfer to Leipzig for some time and reached a personal agreement on a five-year contract weeks ago. Tottenham Hotspur was mentioned in some media but was not in the race, according to Romano.