Tottenham have all but agreed terms with Paris Saint-Germain defender Serge Aurier but Chelsea are ready to hijack the deal, according to French publication L’Equipe.
The newspaper claim the 24-year-old right-back has reached a 95 per cent agreement with Spurs on the terms of a contract and, once they are settled, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy will begin negotiations with PSG over signing Aurier for around £23million.
L’Equipe report that the north Londoners are in pole position to sign the defender but Chelsea lie in ambush and are prepared to hijack their bitter rivals’ deal.
Good move for Tottenham?
Not necessarily. Sure, Aurier has pedigree, valuable Champions League experience and is used to life at a big club where there is pressure to win twice a week. But the Ivory Coast also has a reputation as a troublemaker with an attitude problem. He has landed himself in hot water a few times at PSG and there is a sense that the French big hitters would gladly be rid of him. If Mauricio Pochettino is convinced that Aurier’s problems are behind him and he has matured, then this could be a decent piece of business, as Tottenham are in need of a new right-back following the £50million sale of Kyle Walker to Manchester City. But that is a big ‘if’.
This Is Futbol rating: 5/10
Likely to happen?
The words ‘Chelsea’ and ‘hijack’ in the same sentence will fill the Spurs faithful with dread. They will remember all too well that Willian was on the verge of joining before a late U-turn led him to Stamford Bridge. Back when Harry Redknapp was manager, Tottenham were also on the verge of signing Eden Hazard. We all know what happened there. Chelsea have deeper pockets than Spurs and the lustre that comes with regular trophies. It appears there is some way to go before Tottenham sign Aurier.
This Is Futbol rating: 4/10