Tottenham move for Serge Aurier delayed by predictable circumstances

As the gears in Tottenham’s transfer machine finally start moving, there seems to be an entirely foreseeable malfunction coming up in the form of Serge Aurier.

The Guardian reported late Tuesdasy that the Ivorian right-back’s move to Tottenham is being complicated by a two month suspended sentence resulting from an altercation with a police officer.

Now, this isn’t some last minute bombshell. Aurier’s conviction was a known issue well before rumors began to sprout up that Spurs were interested in his services.

This naturally leads to a now-familiar question: if this was going be a problem, why are Spurs waiting until the final days of the transfer window to hope it all goes through?

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One might say this was a negotiation, and it can be difficult to put timetables on something as delicate as a player transfer. One might also think, though, that both Spurs and Paris Saint Germain would want to make sure this negotiation wrapped up quickly enough to avoid it failing to go through at all due to the deadline.

How much of that is a real risk is hard to say. Aurier did tweet out a suggestive series of emojis Wednesday morning that hinted at some deal possibly being completed. Nevertheless, this ordeal serves as just the latest example of Spurs inexplicable ineptness when it comes to the transfer window.

Take a step back from the details though, and this latest drama becomes even more disturbing. Aurier’s move to Spurs was always figuratively complicated by his past transgressions, and now it might also be literally complicated by them.

Fighting a cop is just one of Aurier’s offenses. He also served a suspension at PSG for being filmed slandering former coach Laurent Blanc and Zlatan Ibrahimovic with homophobic slurs.

And just in case you were somehow content these shenanigans so long as they happened off the pitch, he also took nearly 10 minutes to get on the pitch last march in some petulant attempt at revenge on PSG coach Unai Emery.

Perhaps Tottenham could take this delay in Aurier’s work application as one last final chance to nix the deal and — quickly — resume their search for right-back cover elsewhere. It’s beyond clear that the 24-year-old is ill-suited for Tottenham, and perhaps for all of football.