Aurier has been linked with a move from Spurs to Serie A side Napoli.
Serge Aurier is reportedly a transfer target for Serie A side Napoli this month on a season-long loan, as the Italian side are put off by Manchester United’s demands for Matteo Darmian – and Mauricio Pochettino may be tempted to offload him.
Sky Italy journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has claimed that Manchester United are looking for a fee of £9million from Napoli to have Darmian for the 2018-19 campaign, before paying a similar fee next summer to make the deal permanent.
It has put Napoli’s new manager Carlo Ancelotti off of completing a deal, and instead the former Chelsea boss has targeted Spurs’ Ivory Coast international Aurier as well as Paris Saint-Germain flyer Thomas Meunier.
Aurier, 25, struggled to make an impact following his move from PSG last summer, with England World Cup hero Kieran Trippier preferred throughout much of the 2017-18 campaign.
Indeed, Aurier managed just 17 Premier League appearances. Now, Pochettino could be tempted to offload Aurier, but not because of Trippier’s form. It is Kyle Walker-Peters’ excellent showing in pre-season that will surely have a factor.
The Spurs academy graduate has starred in the 4-1 win over AS Roma, the penalty-shootout loss to Barcelona and most recently the win over AC Milan – in which the England youth international picked up the man of the match trophy.
He remains third choice despite being able to play at both right-back and left-back, with Spurs boasting Aurier, Trippier Ben Davies and Danny Rose.
But his displays will have turned Pochettino’s head, certainly proving that he is more than capable of providing back-up to Trippier. If a bid for Aurier is tabled, Spurs should accept – and rake in a decent loan fee with Walker-Peters a ready-made replacement.
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