Tottenham seal £23m deal for PSG’s Serge Aurier
Tottenham have completed the £23 million signing of Ivory Coast international Serge Aurier from Paris Saint-Germain.
Aurier, 24, has signed a contract until 2022 after he was granted clearance by the Home Office.
On Wednesday, the right-back was told that the French courts had downgraded the criminal conviction he received for assaulting a police officer last year, allowing him to successfully submit a normal work permit application.
“This is a huge and exciting opportunity at a massive football club and I am determined to prove myself as a professional both on and off the pitch,” he told Spurs’ official website.
“This is a fresh start for me and I will do everything to make the Spurs fanbase, which is huge and diverse, proud of me. The fans are the most important people at any club and I am looking forward to showing them and everyone at Spurs the real Serge Aurier.”
Spurs have been in the market for a new right-back after selling Kyle Walker to Manchester City for a deal worth up to £50m in July, and Aurier follows centre-back Davinson Sanchez, goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga and defender Juan Foyth in making the move to North London this summer.
Aurier joined PSG, initially on loan, from Toulouse in 2014 and he has made 54 Ligue 1 appearances in three seasons with the French club, while he has 41 caps for his country.
However, the signing is not without controversy. In November, he was barred from entering the UK for PSG’s Champions League game at Arsenal following a late decision by the Home Office, with PSG condemning it as “incomprehensible” and a “flagrant lack of respect for the club.”
In May 2016, Aurier was arrested in Paris for assaulting a police officer outside a nightclub.
He was convicted of assault in September 2016, now downgraded by the courts, and given a two-month “convertible” prison sentence, which his lawyers have argued he will never have to serve, a €600 fine and a €1,500 damages bill. Aurier maintains his innocence and has appealed.
He was also forced to apologise after using an anti-gay slur against former PSG coach Laurent Blanc in a Facebook Live, and Spurs LGBT supporters’ group, Proud Lilywhites, has been in touch with the club to express concern about the signing.
