Tottenham confirm sale of defender to Serie A giants

Tottenham have confirmed Brazilian defender Emerson Royal has left the club to join Serie A giants AC Milan.

The 25-year-old joined Spurs in 2021 from Barcelona after impressing on loan at Real Betis and made 31 Premier League appearances as his side finished fourth under Antonio Conte to qualify for the Champions League.

A defensive injury crisis in Ange Postecoglou's squad saw the ten-time Brazil international play frequently last season but Milan have pursued a deal in recent months and a transfer worth a reported £12.8m was eventually agreed.

Emerson has signed a four-year contract with the Rossoneri with the option for an extra 12 months and joins Alvaro Morata and Strahinja Pavlovic as experienced additions during the summer transfer window.

Milan came second in Serie A under Stefano Pioli last season and new manager Paulo Foncesca has been tasked with toppling city rivals Inter this time around. He has lost veterans Olivier Giroud and Simon Kjaer, while Charles De Ketelaere has joined Atalanta permanently having struggled in Italy's capital.

While Emerson was useful in filling in at centre-back last season when Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero were absent, his departure is the latest step of rebuilding under manager Ange Postecoglou as the Greek-Australian puts his stamp on the squad.

Midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's loan to Marseille will become a permanent departure next year, while Bryan Gil has been sent to Girona for the season and Joe Rodon has left for Leeds United.

In terms of incoming arrivals, Spurs completed a swoop for striker Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth over the weekend, adding to previous deals for Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall and re-signing of Timo Werner on loan.

After finishing their pre-season campaign with two losses to Bayern Munich, Tottenham's first Premier League game of 2024/25 comes next Monday when they visit Leicester City.

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