Tottenham Hotspur defender Serge Aurier is angling for a move away from north London this summer after showing no interest in signing a new contract, according to the Evening Standard.
Aurier has seen his future at Spurs cast into doubt with Spurs moving to agree a £14.7million transfer with Wolverhampton Wanderers for star full-back Matt Doherty, who is due to join Jose Mourinho’s side imminently after agreeing on personal terms.
The north London side are revamping the right-back position in Mourinho’s squad this close season with the departure of Kyle Walker-Peters already confirmed, while Aurier would be expected to make way for Doherty.
Aurier currently has two years remaining on his £70,000-per-week contract but is understood to have turned down the chance to agree on an extension having pushed for a move away in each of the last two summer windows.
AC Milan are one side contending for his signature this year with Technical Director Paolo Maldini confirming the Serie A side’s interest earlier in the month, but no agreement has been found with Spurs now said to be requesting €25m (£22.2m).
That figure is €10m (£8.9m) more than what was claimed when Maldini expressed the Rossoneri’s interest, while also coming in €5m (£4.4m) higher than what was reported in Germany when Bayer Leverkusen were touted as a potential rival suitor.
Leverkusen have not been able to close negotiations with Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy due to their need to sell before they can buy, but Aurier can certainly be expected to leave the north London side at some stage this summer.
Will Spurs manage to sell Aurier this summer?
Yes
No
Mourinho looking to offload Aurier and sign a right-back he fancies should come as no surprise to the Tottenham fanbase, despite the Portuguese calling on the Ivorian to play in 33 of his 35 fixtures at the helm.
That’s because Mourinho has clearly never been a fan of what Aurier has to offer, which will become clear on Monday when Amazon release their All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur series.
In quotes taken from one of his early pre-match team talks with Spurs, as cited by the Evening Standard, Mourinho is seen telling Aurier: “Serge, you are going to be one of the markers, you speak good English? I am afraid of you as a marker because you are capable of doing a s*** penalty with VAR. So I am afraid of you.”