Jose Mourinho has a choice to make if Tottenham Hotspur defender Serge Aurier leaves north London in the summer, reports say.Â
The 60-cap Ivory Coast international wanted to leave last year but a move to AC Milan failed to materialise.
Now Tottenham are reportedly trying to get rid of the right-back as talks have ‘intensified’ between the two clubs over the past week or so.
Stefano Pioli’s side will have to sell either Andrea Conti or David Calabria to make room for the ex-Paris Saint-Germain ace.
Aurier is a controversial character who has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons more often than not, after his conduct came under scrutiny from the club for making a string of high-profile mistakes.
The Lilywhites have been linked to Turkey full-back Zeki Celik, but he is apparently “just one of the names on the list” if Aurier leaves, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Italian transfer guru claims Spurs are considering several options, which makes perfect sense, as they are also in the running to sign Norwich City’s Max Aarons and have recently registered their interest in Arsenal academy graduate Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
Kyle Walker-Peters has already left the club, so Mourinho will have to fill two right-back spots if he decides to sell Aurier in the summer.
As Alasdair Gold pointed out, Spurs need to improve the amount of homegrown players in the squad and losing Walker-Peters and potentially Danny Rose as well could lead the Lilywhites to taking a look at some of the British talent on offer like Aarons and Maitland-Niles.
On the other hand, Celik has played Champions League football, which might put him at an advantage over his Premier League counterparts. The 23-year-old, who is only slightly older than Aarons and Maitland-Niles, is an aggressive tackler and potent counter-attacking threat on the right flank for Lille, who has plenty of experience at the top levels of the game despite his young age.
However, Spurs face stiff competition from Everton to sign the£18m-valued defender, so it remains to be seen if Daniel Levy can get a deal done in the summer.
Tottenham fans, do you think Levy should sign Celik? Let us know your views in the comments below!