Atletico Madrid look to make fresh bid for Tottenham full-back Emerson Royal

Tottenham Hotspur could be prepared to offload Emerson Royal, with Atletico Madrid in the hunt to land the right-back.

Emerson joined Spurs for £25m from Barcelona last summer as one of Nuno Espirito Santo's summer purchases but despite appearing 44 times across all competitions last season struggled to impress in his first season in north London.

Atletico are now keen to bring the Brazil international back to Spain but thrashing out a deal is far from certain with the north London club.

Cash-strapped Atletico would prefer at the very least an initial loan deal, however Spurs would prefer a permanent transfer if Emerson is to leave the club this summer as a way of securing guaranteed funds.

It appears Spurs, who have already signed three players including Yves Bissouma, Fraser Forster and Ivan Perisic as they prepare for a Champions League return, are also willing to pull out of any potential talks altogether if their demands are not met.

Poor performances led to Emerson losing his place later on in the season following the arrival of manager Antonio Conte, with the upsurge in form of Matt Doherty also contributing to his drop to the bench.

However a season-ending injury for the Irishman saw Emerson recalled to the starting XI and he finished the season strongly to help Conte's men snatch a top four spot in the Premier League on the final day of the season.

Atletico's pursuit could be further complicated by their reported struggles to register players next season.

The Madrid based outfit are unable to register new signing Axel Witsel having exceeded their salary limit by £86million.

The club's president Enrique Cerezo recently appeared to confirm the signing of Witsel on a free transfer following his release by Borussia Dortmund.

However confirmation of his arrival has not been forthcoming.

'We already have a midfielder. It's Witsel who, as you all know, is practically a done deal and we're still looking for a full-back,' he told reporters.