After months of speculation, Tottenham Hotspur have finally secured the signing of fullback Serge Aurier from Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.
Tottenham have left it late once again in the transfer window and have made a flurry of signings this past week. Centerbacks Juan Foyth and Davison Sanchez will now be joined by fullback Serge Aurier, who has signed for the London side for a reported £23 million, as per ESPN.
Signing defensive reinforcements has been a priority for Pochettino’s side after they let go of a number of defenders this summer. Kyle Walker, Federico Fazio and Kevin Wimmer have all left the club permanently, while Cameron Carter-Vickers was loaned out to Sheffield United.
The Ivory Coast international has been a long term target for the North London side and was even rumoured to a be a target for fellow Premier League side Manchester United. Old Trafford was initially rumoured to be his preferred destination, but there never seemed to be any concrete interest from the Red Devils.
Aurier came through the youth ranks of French side RC Lens, with whom he would go on to make his professional debut back in 2009. 6 years after first signing for the club, he would move to Toulouse FC and subsequently Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2014 on a temporary deal, which would later be made permanent in 2015.
Serge Aurier has recorded more assists (19) in Ligue 1 since 2012/13 than any other defender.
Loves to get forward. ? pic.twitter.com/EnEwa5YDyL
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 31, 2017
Since then, he has made 81 appearances for Les Parisiens, scoring 5 goals and registering 15 assists. He has won 11 domestic titles in his time at Paris and has been an integral part of what has been one of the most dominant sides in history of the French top flight.
However, Thomas Meunier’s arrival last summer put his spot in Unai Emery’s starting XI danger and Dani Alves’ arrival from Juventus this summer meant that opportunities would come few and far in between for the 24-year-old Ivorian.
At Tottenham, he would serve as a direct replacement for Kyle Walker and would likely slot straight into the starting XI as a right wing-back. He is fast, strong, loves to get forward and more importantly, experienced at the European level and is arguably an upgrade on Kyle Walker.
Despite coming under a lot of scrutiny for his personal life and off-field problems, his immense talent and quality is undeniable and for £23 million in such an inflated market, this has the potential to be one of the best signings of the summer.
