Tottenham transfers report card: How the new signings measure up

Serge Aurier 7/10:

There is an inherent risk that goes along with signing the Ivory Coast international. Nobody questions his boundless talent. There is no doubt the £24 million price tag would have been much higher had Aurier’s rap sheet not been so lengthy and damning. Last summer, Aurier assaulted a police officer outside a nightclub in Paris, making his application for a UK work permit all the more complicated. That incident came months after he was caught on video making homophobic slurs directed at Laurent Blanc, his former manager at PSG. The unpredictable, sometimes volatile defender also lambasted a few of his PSG teammates on the same controversial video.

If anyone can get him on the straight and narrow, Pochettino surely will. And it’s not like Spurs had many options. Tottenham have tried to find a viable replacement for Walker since selling him in July. The Kieran Trippier experiment has thus far failed famously. It might be a bit harsh to judge Trippier this early in the season, but his mental lapse against Burnley cost Spurs a win and two points the club cannot afford to concede.

Aurier is needed, so let’s hope the rewards will far outweigh the off-field risks. Aurier’s transfer grade will invariably increase to nine if he becomes a law-abiding citizen under the gaffers’ guidance and mentorship.