It came as a bit of a shock when Tottenham Hotspur and their Ivorian right-back Serge Aurier announced at the end of August that the 28-year-old has been released from his contract with the Cockerels. After a nice and long holiday – the former Paris Saint-Germain man has got a new job – he’ll be playing for Villareal!💛 @Serge_aurier 💛📎 https://t.co/AH7oZdOnMZ¡𝗕𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗗𝗢 𝗮𝗹 𝗩𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 💪! pic.twitter.com/Do7Qd0nFRj— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) October 4, 2021 Unai Emery’s club pulled off a fine coup with relatively low risk. They have got an established player in his prime years, but have the luxury to release him at the end of the 2021/22 season in case they decide Aurier is not a right fit for them after all.The strong defender joined Spurs in 2017 and made 77 league appearances in north London, scoring five goals. He also had spells at Lens and Toulouse earlier in his career. He has been capped 70 times by the Ivory Coast and scored three goals. Aurier also captains his national side.Thursday, 22.00: (1.12) Tunisia (8.00) Mauritania (16.0)In the newly-signed Emerson Royal, Matt Doherty and youngster Yaphet Tanganga, Nuno Espirito Santo had three options he deemed more trustworthy than Aurier, who barely featured in the club’s pre-season. Nuno’s predecessors, Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho, also wanted to sell Aurier at various points — partly because of his costly errors.Aurier joins a Villarreal side containing two other former Tottenham players in Juan Foyth and Etienne Capoue – not to mention the coach that knows him well from their time together at Parc des Princes. Aurier could make his Villareal debut at home to Osasuna on 17 October, but will first join up with his country for World Cup qualifiers against Malawi.
