Serge Aurier spent three seasons with Paris Saint-Germain before his transfer to Tottenham Hotspur in 2017. Despite playing in the Premier League now, Aurier still has a soft spot for the capital club and doesn’t rule out a possible return to the French capital one day.
In a recent with Canal Plus Afrique (via Get French Football News), the Ivorian international discussed the opportunity to finish his career with the Parisian club.
“If I can see myself finish my career at PSG? That is even my plan! I would like to finish at PSG. I have a feeling of unfinished business,” Aurier said. “It has been my club since I was a kid, I would go watch matches at the Parc des Princes. It was a dream for me to come to PSG, and for me, that dream is not finished.”
Last summer, there was a report that Leonardo, PSG’s sporting director, spoke with Aurier as the club had him as a transfer target, but nothing resulted from the interest.
However, with the pending departure of Thomas Meunier when the 2019-20 season concludes, Les Parisiens will be in the market for a right-back to compete with Thilo Kehrer and Colin Dagba next season.
When it comes to the cost, the 27-year-old is relatively cheap. Transfermarkt sets Aurier’s value at €20 million, which isn’t a bad price considering PSG will want to allocate a good portion of their transfer budget to other positions. With the likes of Sergej Milinković-Savić, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Timo Werner, PSG will be looking for a bargain buy at fullback and Aurier fits that bill.
Despite Aurier hoping for a reunion and the love he’s showing towards the Parisian club, there is some baggage that many supporters remember from his first stint.
In 2016, two incidents ultimately lead to his departure. The first occurred in February when the then 23-year-old was caught insulting former PSG manager Laurent Blanc and former teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic by using a homophobic slur.
The next incident happened in May of 2016, when Aurier would find himself in trouble with the law after allegedly insulting and punching a police officer. Although departing PSG in 2017, the Ivorian international has had another arrest during his time with Tottenham. Last year, allegations on suspicion of domestic battery lead to an arrest, but no further action would become of this matter.
Perhaps at 27, Aurier has matured and wants to come back to Paris to redeem himself both personally and professionally. Nonetheless, if PSG does decide to bring him back, it needs to be on a contract that the club can quickly get out of if there are any issues.
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