Tottenham Hotspur are set to consider the future of Serge Aurier in the coming weeks, though one potential outcome could spell absolute calamity…
What’s the word?
According to the Daily Mail, both Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and his manager Jose Mourinho will sit down to discuss plans for the Ivory Coast right-back as well as Erik Lamela.
It comes just as they turn their attentions towards offering Heung-min Son a bumper pay rise.
They also claim that Levy has an unwritten rule in that he does not allow players to enter the final two years of their contracts to avoid losing them on free transfers, so it is reasonable to suggest that Aurier could either be sold this January or handed a new deal himself.
The 27-year-old has just under 18 months to run on his current contract.
Contract calamity
Perhaps surprisingly, Aurier has started Spurs’ last two Premier League outings – a 6-1 mauling of Manchester United, in which he scored and assisted, as well as that thrilling 3-3 draw with West Ham at the weekend.
However, this could well be a mere purple patch as the right-back has all too often been the root of many defensive problems, whether that be through silly fouls, lapses in concentration or outright stupid mistakes.
Not to mention the controversy surrounding the former PSG man breaching the UK’s lockdown rules back in May.
It is why Mourinho brought in Matt Doherty from Wolves this summer.
The Special One even admitted to Aurier, in front of all his teammates, that he was “afraid” of his defending during one episode of Amazon’s ‘All or Nothing‘ docuseries.
As per SofaScore, Aurier lost possession an average of 16 times per match in the Premier League last season and also committed 1.2 fouls per game. He even conceded two penalties in just 31 starts.
Many pundits have criticised him since his move to north London too – Teddy Sheringham once lambasted him as “erratic” whilst Alan Pardew believes these poor moments come down to his arrogance.
Throughout the summer, he was linked with moves to AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen, according to Sky Sports, so there’s a good chance that someone will take a punt on him again given the winter window is just a few months away.
Aurier is valued at €20m (£18m) by CIES Football Observatory, so Levy must consider cashing in instead of sleepwalking into the long-term disaster that would undoubtedly come with handing him fresh terms.
AND in other news, £45.5m-rated LIABILITY must be on borrowed time after latest Spurs clanger…