Serge Aurier is a hugely entertaining footballer to watch. Capable of brilliance going forward, Aurier has shown that a costly mistake is never too far away. The positives usually outweigh the negatives, and that’s why Mauricio Pochettino signed him for Tottenham in the first place.
In seemed Tottenham were the only club seriously in town for Aurier during the summer, despite people connected to the player seemingly talking up interest from others, including Manchester United.
At times the claims of widespread interest almost felt desperate, as Aurier’s law team tried to battle through a charge of violence against police to help the player get a work permit.
Speaking over the weekend in France, Aurier told the media he could have signed for Barcelona, had they not been put off by his off-field issues.
Barcelona have gone to the extent of releasing a statement rubbishing what the Tottenham player has claimed. Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo quote the club, in their newspaper edition, as saying: “We never sat down with the player or his representative.”
Online another Catalan newspaper, Sport, add a little from Barcelona: “…they wanted to sit down with us but we never did anything.”
Ouch. Barcelona’s imaginary loss may well be Tottenham Hotspur’s long term gain.
