Signed for £23M: Spurs criminal star now worse than Reguilon and left for £0

Tottenham may be revamping their transfer strategy under Ange, but their recent history is filled with misfires.

Serge Reguilon is in action for Tottenham.
Tottenham Hotspur will be anxious to return to the Champions League next season, but the arrival of Ange Postecoglou has sparked hope in north London for years to come.

Will Spurs make the top four? It’s a major question at this point. Are they doing better than previous season? Most absolutely. Tottenham are fourth in the Premier League after 24 games, one point ahead of Aston Villa. They have put the 2022/23 season behind them.

Postecoglou’s on-field philosophy captivated fans over the first several months of the season, and although a difficult time in November and December wiped out any realistic championship hopes, there are some encouraging indicators for the future.

The Australian’s tactical choice is based on fast-flowing, powerful football, which he admits is “non-negotiable” while assembling his side.

His transfer work has served as a catalyst for the exciting new era, with players like as James Maddison and Micky van de Ven joining and propelling an outfit that finished seventh last season.

The 58-year-old has sent away a lot of deadwood, but he will be grateful that he never had to cope with Serge Aurier, who left Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a year ago following a disastrous spell.

Spurs signed Serge Aurier

Over the years, there have been a number of stumbles in the transfer market along the N17, and although the £63 million acquisition of Tanguy Ndombele and the previous club-record signing of Davinson Sanchez, for about £42 million, are not the only costly purchases to litter the club’s route.

Joining from Paris Saint-Germain for £23 million in August 2017, Ivorian full-back Aurier, then 24, was set to replace the departing Kyle Walker, who had been targeted by Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City ahead of a £50 million transfer.

Despite a slew of troubles and scandals, Aurier was still a great player on the field, having made 81 appearances for the French giants, scoring five goals and giving 15 assists while collecting a slew of major honors, including two Ligue 1 crowns.

Aurier was blessed with eye-catching athleticism and an all-round skill set that underpin his suitability for a prominent role in the Premier League at his best, and while he had his moments in Spurs white, they were few and far between, interspersed with too many moments of lost face.

Worse than Reguilon

Aurier appeared in 110 games for Tottenham, scoring eight goals and providing 17 assists in all competitions. While this is not a bad return, he was reprimanded by commentator Jamie Carragher for his poor performances.

The former Liverpool player said, “Aurier is probably one of the biggest liabilities in Premier League football and is a player who would possibly put you off management with the amount of crazy decisions he makes.”

“We know what happened with the goal, he ends up running off the pitch allowing Sterling – the worst thing you can do – on that right foot almost get the goal.”

Aurier was unquestionably one of Tottenham’s worst full-back purchases in recent memory, surpassing Sergio Reguilon, who arrived from Real Madrid for a fee that may increase to £32 million in 2020.

The Spaniard, who is still on Tottenham’s books (on loan at Brentford), has been described as “average” and the “worst of the bunch” by analyst Jon Wenham, although he still has age on his side (27 years old) and has had a difficult injury history to stymie his growth.

He’s also said to have earned £53k per week while at Tottenham; Aurier, on the other hand, was paid a hefty £78k per week when he left French football for England’s capital.

Serge Aurier’s Post-Spurs Career

Aurier’s contract was never extended, and at the conclusion of the 2020/21 season, one year before it expired, a mutual termination permitted him to spend a year in Spain with Villarreal.

That didn’t work out either, and in 2022, Nottingham Forest provided the 31-year-old a Premier League lifeline, signing him on a free transfer after a disastrous few years.

As the chart indicates, the 5 foot 9 flop never lived up to the hype when Spurs chairman Daniel Levy paid a rather high price for his services, and has subsequently depreciated more to reflect his ineffectiveness on the field.

In the video above, Nottingham Forest defeated newly promoted Sheffield United after losing on the first day of the season against Arsenal.

Aurier’s excellent ingenuity ensured the hosts secured all three points, with two wonderful looping crosses for forward Taiwo Awoniyi and Chris Wood providing the key moments.

Such balls are the result of Aurier’s skill, which Tottenham knows has always been within reach, but his impulsive personality and stunning lack of consistency have prevented him from fulfilling his full potential on English soil.

Former Spurs player Michael Dawson once mocked Aurier for his “criminal” defensive awareness, and his is one of several signings that fell short, with the expectation that a new age offers a fresh polish of diligence and profitability.

There’s a long way to go, but it seems like Levy has discovered the recipe in Postecoglou to guarantee that such ill-fated transfer endeavors are avoided for good, which Aurier used as a barometer for awful transactions to avoid in the future.

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