Tottenham have agreed a fee of €30m (£25.7m) to sign Emerson Royal from Barcelona as Nuno Espírito Santo attempts to bolster his defensive options.
Arsenal also reportedly showed an interest in signing Emerson, who joined Barcelona in 2019 from Atlético Mineiro, but Spurs have acted quickly to negotiate a deal for the 22-year-old.
With the Ivory Coast defender Serge Aurier now out of favour at Tottenham, Japhet Tanganga started at right-back in the win against Watford on Sunday. Emerson will provide competition for him and Matt Doherty, who played under Nuno at Wolves.
The Brazil international with four senior caps has spent the past two years on loan at Real Betis, who he helped to qualify for the Europa League last season under the manager Manuel Pellegrini.
Tottenham have already completed a deal for Metz’s highly rated 18-year-old midfielder Pape Sarr, with the Senegal international poised to spend this season on loan at his former club. But Spurs have yet to achieve a breakthrough in negotiations with Wolves over Adama Traoré.
