The Serge Aurier situation in France is one quite a few Premier League clubs have their eye on right now, with reports of his court case verdict being just around the corner, potentially granting him access to the United Kingdom.
Since Paris Saint-Germain signed Dani Alves on a free, the future of the Ivory Coast international has been up in the air, although an exit was always likely once the defender asked to stay behind during preseason to sort out a move.
Manchester United and Tottenham were the two favourites to sign the 24-year-old, with various reports linking the two Premier League sides, and now, according to Le10 Sport on Thursday, Chelsea have joined the queue.
Looking for an alternative/improvement to Victor Moses down the right hand side, Antonio Conte has already seen Danilo slip through his fingers, going to Manchester City instead, and Aurier, a good defender but also great going forward, would make perfect sense as an alternative.
The French website explain Paris Saint-Germain currently want €30m for their want away defender, which happens to be the new fee quoted in L’Equipe on Thursday morning, and that Chelsea have recently ‘made contact’ for the right-back.
However, at no point does it say the Blues have made a bid for Aurier, just that they’ve positioned themselves, waiting for the verdict of his trial.
English newspaper interpretations of the Le10 Sport report, claiming Chelsea have made a ‘£27m bid’, are quite simply wrong.
As for the veracity of this report, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Chelsea are interested in the defender, especially with their need in the position.
We’ll have to wait and see until after the court case, as, until then, there’s not a lot anyone in the Premier League can do.
If he’s cleared, that’s when the real fun begins.