Barcelona rejected two Tottenham players in Emerson deal

It was a strange transfer window for Brazilian international Emerson Royal, who after just two months of completing his “dream” move to Barcelona was sold to Tottenham Hotspur on the transfer deadline day.

Many Barca fans were excited about Emerson’s arrival as he not only brought depth to the squad’s right flank but also competition to a young Sergino Dest. While being more defensive-minded than Dest, the Brazilian also brought immense La Liga experience after his two-and-half seasons at Real Betis.

While the duo would have resolved Barca’s right-back issues for years to come, president Joan Laporta had other plans for the 22-year-old pertaining to the financial crisis that is currently troubling the Spanish giants.

Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur accepted a 25 million euro deal for the promising defender, boasting Barca’s finances in the process. Fabrizio Romano, however, reveals that the Catalans could have had two Spurs players included in the deal but in the end rejected both of them.

Both 24-year-old midfielder Tanguy Ndombele and now free-agent Serge Aurier were offered in exchange for Emerson but Barca rejected the idea completely as they weren’t interested in either of the two stars.

While the Catalans have Sergino Dest as their main right-back with Oscar Mingueza and Sergi Roberto as options, Emerson would have definitely been a better alternative in the long run. It remains to be seen what repercussions the transfer has on the club’s sporting project, Ronald Koeman did open up on Emerson’s departure when asked if he considers himself a club man.

"“An example of me wanting to help the club is the Emerson decision.”“I told the club if the money was important, they can sell Emerson because we have Dest, Mingueza and even Sergi Roberto. I didn’t stand in the way because I could have said: ‘He’s not moving.'”Source Sport"

Emerson has already debuted for the Premier League side but it wasn’t as intended as Nuno Espírito Santo’s team lost 3-0 to Crystal Palace.

Should Barca have included either Ndombele or Aurier in the Emerson deal?