Paul Mitchell is planning a raid of his former employers, with Tottenham Hotspur defender Serge Aurier emerging as a target for Monaco according to Sky Sports.
When one of the game’s most admired transfer market specialists was unveiled by the 2017 Ligue 1 champions at the start of June, the temptation was to assume that Monaco would be prioritising a ‘buy low, sell high’ policy.
After all, Mitchell proved himself to be a master of unearthing rough diamonds at Southampton, Spurs and RB Leipzig.
But amid claims that Aurier has admirers in Monte Carlo, perhaps all is not quite as it seems.
At the age of 27, a man who cost Tottenham a cool £23 million when he swapped PSG for North London would not come cheap.
The Ivory Coast international has another two years left on his contract at the 2019 Champions League finalists, and you would imagine that Jose Mourinho’s side would demand a decent profit on a player who has established himself as a key first-team player in recent months.
Interestingly, Sky suggests that Mitchell, who left Tottenham a year before Aurier arrived, is the man behind Monaco’s pursuit.
Yet after Spurs missed out on free agent Thomas Meunier to Borussia Dortmund, it would be a surprise to see Daniel Levy cash in on one of Mourinho’s most regular starters.
After all, potential replacements such as Max Aarons and Timothy Castagne will not come cheap.
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