Milan has finally secured the signing of Emerson Royal from Tottenham Hotspur for €15 million, successfully negotiating down from Spurs’ initial asking price of €25 million, thanks to the efforts of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, CEO Furlani, and scout Moncada. Emerson becomes the third addition to Milan’s squad during the current transfer window, with the contracts finalized yesterday, coinciding with the presentation of Álvaro Morata at the club’s headquarters.
During this time, Furlani was finalizing the details of Emerson’s transfer, providing coach Fonseca with the right-back reinforcement he sought. Once Emerson, previously of Barcelona, takes the starting position over Calabria, Milan will field a lineup without any Italian players, likely led by Theo Hernandez as captain.
Interestingly, Emerson was not included in Tottenham’s squad for their friendly against Bayern Munich. He received heartfelt goodbyes from teammates like Yves Bissouma on social media. Initially, there were hopes of Emerson arriving in Milan today, but he and his agent, Stefano Castagna, are now expected to land in the city tomorrow afternoon from London. Medical examinations are scheduled for Monday, followed by the signing of a five-year contract with the club.
The Brazilian defender has been training with Tottenham and participated in their friendlies in Tokyo and Seoul, primarily in a central defensive role, a position he’s not particularly fond of. Physically fit and ready, his registration process should go smoothly, although being a non-EU player means he’ll need to return to London to complete necessary paperwork for his residence permit. His training with his new teammates may be limited due to this.
Emerson aims to wear the No. 22 jersey, the same number he wore at Real Betis, as No. 2 belongs to Calabria. The No. 2 jersey has a legacy, previously worn by his idol, Marcos Cafu, while the No. 22 once belonged to his fellow countryman Kaká, who had a notable career at the club. Other recent players to wear it, like Cerci and Musacchio, haven’t enjoyed the same success.
Milan’s focus will now shift to bolstering the midfield. They remain interested in Monaco’s French midfielder, Fofana, despite the club demanding over €30 million and Manchester United joining the race. However, Milan believes Fofana prefers to play in Serie A. Other alternatives under consideration are Koné from Borussia Monchengladbach and Johnny Cardoso from Betis.
Meanwhile, Yacine Adli is attracting attention from a Qatari club but hasn’t committed yet, despite their substantial offer. Ballo-Touré has attracted interest from several English Championship clubs, while Newcastle continues to pursue Thiaw. As for Divock Origi, he hasn’t received any enticing offers, although options such as moving to Major League Soccer or a transfer to Turkey could be on the horizon as other leagues close at the end of September.