Tottenham to discover fate of Serge Aurier as Home Office nears decision on player's UK work visa

Spurs completed the outline of a deal for Aurier last Monday but the player, who is from Cote d’Ivoire, needs a visa to work in the UK and his assault conviction has got in the way of that

Spurs have been searching for a new right-back ever since they sold Kyle Walker to Manchester City (Getty)

Tottenham Hotspur will hear tomorrow whether their proposed £23m signing of Serge Aurier will be successful. The Home Office is set to make a final decision on Tuesday on whether Aurier will be granted a UK work visa, which has been in doubt because of Aurier’s conviction for assaulting a police officer last year.

Spurs completed the outline of a deal for Aurier last Monday, agreeing a £23m fee with Paris Saint-Germain and a five-year contract with the player himself. But Aurier, who is from Cote d’Ivoire, needs a visa to work in the UK and his assault conviction has got in the way of that.

Last November Aurier was barred from entry to the UK for PSG’s Champions League game at Arsenal following a late decision from the Home Office not to let him in. PSG condemned the decision as “incomprehensible” and a “flagrant lack of respect for the club”.

Aurier was arrested in May last year for assaulting a police officer outside a Paris nightclub. On 26 September he was convicted and given a two-month ‘convertible’ prison sentence, which he is unlikely ever to serve, as well as a €600 fine and a €1,500 damages bill. Aurier maintains his innocence and has appealed, and his lawyers have argued that he will never have to serve the prison sentence.

Spurs have been searching for a new right-back ever since they sold Kyle Walker to Manchester City for an initial £50m last month. They wanted Porto’s Ricardo Pereira, who had a £23m release clause, but negotiations collapsed and they have moved onto Aurier as their next choice.

Mauricio Pochettino has not spoken about the Aurier situation specifically but on Sunday evening, after Spurs’ 1-1 draw with Burnley, he said that he was confident Tottenham would bring in new signings before the window shuts on Thursday night. “We can only be positive,” Pochettino said. “For sure we will add some players who will help us in the future. I am so optimistic. We hope to sign in the positions that we need to strengthen.”