Hour by hour, the transfer of PSG right back Serge Aurier is moving closer to completion. Both the Telegraph and the Guardian are reporting now that Spurs have agreed to a £23m transfer for the French right back, and are now waiting on approval from the home office for him to obtain a visa to enter the United Kingdom.
Aurier is appealing a suspended conviction he received for allegedly assaulting a police officer outside a Paris nightclub in 2016. According to reports, the club is confident that the red tape can be swept away, paving the way for Aurier to sign with Spurs before the close of the transfer deadline, but they feel that they need to check with the British government to confirm that everything is still ok. The player reportedly passed a medical in Paris at some point in the past few days.
Aurier’s conviction previously denied him entry into the UK for a Champions League match between PSG and Arsenal last season.
From a purely footballing standpoint, Aurier will be an ideal addition to Tottenham’s defense, especially after the sale of Kyle Walker to Manchester City earlier this summer. However, the cloud of the assault allegations and the videotape of Aurier using homophobic language against his PSG teammates, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and former manager Laurent Blanc still hangs like a cloud over his transfer.
Aurier would be Tottenham’s third confirmed signing after Davinson Sanchez from Ajax, and goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga from Southampton.