Tottenham Hotspur opted to sign Emerson Royal instead of Takehiro Tomiyasu due to having more of an attacking threat, according to journalist Paul Brown.

What happened in the transfer window?

Spurs were linked with Tomiyasu throughout the summer and were confident of securing his services for close to £15million back in June.

Although Bologna were looking to secure a fee of £17.2million for the Japan international, respected transfer guru Fabrizio Romano claimed Tomiyasu wanted to seal a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Spurs being his only Premier League suitors.

With just days of the transfer window remaining, Telegraph journalist Mike McGrath reported a deal to take the 22-year-old to Spurs was still possible.

However, Tomiyasu ended up joining Spurs' bitter north London rivals Arsenal on deadline day after Mikel Arteta's side brokered a deal worth £19.8million.

Spurs, under new head coach Nuno Espirito Santo following his appointment in June, opted to bring in right-back Royal instead after agreeing a transfer worth £25.8million with Spanish giants Barcelona.

Enter Giveaway

Enter Giveaway

What has Paul Brown said about Spurs' decision to opt for Royal?

Royal has scored six goals and claimed 11 assists over the course of his career, while Tomiyasu has only registered nine goal involvements from his defensive role.

Brown believes Royal's better numbers in the attacking third of the pitch played a key role in Nuno eventually opting to sign the Brazilian instead of Tomiyasu.

Nuno Out?! Full match reaction on The Football Terrace as Arsenal DESTROY Tottenham!

The journalist believes Tomiyasu did not meet the profile of full-back the former Wolverhampton Wanderers chief was looking for in the transfer market.

Brown told GIVEMESPORT: "I'm not really sure that's exactly what Spurs were looking for.

"I think Spurs were looking for more of an attacking sort of full-back because Nuno likes his full-backs to bomb on and that's probably why they went in a different direction."

Who has made the better start to their career in north London?

The statistics would suggest Tomiyasu has made a more positive impact on his team-mates as Arsenal went into the weekend having won every fixture since the 24-cap Japan international moved to the Emirates Stadium.

Spurs, meanwhile, went into the latest round of fixtures with the worrying record of losing every Premier League clash since the transfer window closed at the end of August.

The north Londoners conceded six goals as Royal played all 180 minutes of the defeats to Crystal Palace and Chelsea, while he came off the bench as a half-time substitute when Spurs lost to Arsenal last weekend.