CM: Emerson Royal nearing Milan return – why his future remains uncertain | OneFootball

Emerson Royal has had a difficult first season with AC Milan, as a series of uninspiring performances was followed up by a major injury blow.

As Calciomercato.com report, the future of Emerson Royal remains an unknown at present. He arrived at Milan last summer from Tottenham for €15m plus €2m in bonuses, but the Brazilian full-back has alternated sufficient performances with disastrous ones so far.

In fact, it led the management to intervene in the winter transfer window, signing Kyle Walker from Manchester City. At the same time as the arrival of the English full-back, there was also talk of a strong interest from Galatasaray in Emerson, but with the injury everything stopped.

Emerson was injured on January 24 in the Champions League match against Girona. The former Barcelona man lasted only two minutes before suffering a high-grade lesion in his right calf, forcing him to miss two months, meaning he should return soon.

During an interview with MilanNews published on Monday evening, Emerson Royal’s father-agent spoke about his son’s struggles in his first season at the club, the Galatasaray rumours and his recovery from injury.

“Emerson is fine. Of course, he is disappointed about the injury, but now that his return is imminent he is enthusiastic. The stop came at a less than ideal time, but injuries are part of the game and now the goal is to come back stronger,” he said.

“For us, there was never a concrete negotiation [with Galatasaray]. We didn’t believe it would happen and we knew little about it. It was a rumour that appeared and disappeared quickly. The objective is clear: to do what is expected of Royal, to contribute, to give his best and to help the team win titles. He loves Milan.”

Despite those words, his future is still to be written. Between his recovery from injury, his uninspiring performances and the competition with Walker, the 26-year-old could find himself behind in the hierarchy.

A lot will also depend on the choice of the new coach, given that Sergio Conceicao will leave Milan in June, and on whether the buy-out option on Walker is used. That doesn’t seem to be in question at the moment.

In the event that Royal were sold, it is difficult to imagine that someone would knock on Milan’s door with a check for around €11.25m, the minimum amount that Milan would have to collect to avoid recording a capital loss. A loan formula is therefore more likely, with Turkey an option again.