Aston Villa’s reported pursuit of Emerson Royal could come to an end as it has now been suggested that Flamengo don’t wish to sell the full-back.
Villa have been paired with an interest in the Brazilian defender in recent weeks, as Unai Emery seemingly looks to add depth and competition in the right-back position alongside Matty Cash.
With his experience and perhaps being suited to the way in which the Villa boss wants us to play in his preferred system, Emerson would arguably have been a sensible addition to the squad, albeit many remain unconvinced after his previous stints at Tottenham and AC Milan, but it doesn’t appear as though the move is likely to happen as things stand.
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According to Brazilian reporter Vene Casagrande, Flamengo have decided for the time being that they do not wish to sell Emerson, and so it remains to be seen if that stance changes again this summer or if Villa are forced to look elsewhere and consider alternative targets.
With Andres Garcia continuing to struggle with injuries and Kosta Nedeljkovic expected to leave on a permanent basis this summer, the expectation is that Villa will make signing a new right-back a priority this summer to ensure that we have enough cover to compete across multiple fronts next season.
Talented youngster Triston Rowe enjoyed a productive loan spell at Annecy last season and so hopefully that has moved him closer to being in contention as he looks to have a bright future ahead of him if he can continue to develop and improve his all-round game, but if the Emerson rumours are to be believed, then Emery possibly wants a more experienced option in his squad for the more immediate future.
That in turn would take the pressure and strain off Cash who has played significant minutes in recent seasons and has struggled with injury issues of his own in the past, but time will tell if Emerson becomes a realistic target again, or if we look at other options in the coming weeks in our search for a solution in that department.
