Aurier makes U-turn on Tottenham future after pushing for summer switch

The Ivory Coast international defender was eager to find a way out of north London in the last transfer window but says he is now happy to stay put

Serge Aurier wanted out of Tottenham during the summer, but he now claims to be happy to remain in England.

The Ivory Coast international defender has endured a testing time since arriving in north London from Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.

Just 17 appearances were taken in last season, to go with the 24 he made in his debut campaign.

Injuries have been an issue at times, but Mauricio Pochettino has also taken to favouring other options.

That standing contributed to the 26-year-old pushing for a move during the last transfer window, but he returned to the Spurs side in a 4-0 victory over Crystal Palace and is now feeling more settled.

Quizzed on whether he had wanted to leave, Aurier told reporters: “Yes, but that was the situation before the transfer window closed, the transfer window is now closed, now I am calm and happy to stay.

“I speak with everyone, I don’t want to leave.

“I had something in my head, but I didn’t want to leave for the gaffer or the chairman [Daniel Levy].

“It was my personal situation and now it is OK, everyone wants to give me another chance and now I am happy to stay and happy to play and happy for the victory.

“We need to give the best for this season and for the trophies.

“Nothing has changed in my life. I stay and now I want to prove and give my best for the supporters, for the club, for everyone.”

Tottenham have made a steady start to the 2019-20 campaign, taking eight points from five games to sit third in the Premier League table.

Their attention is now about to shift to Champions League matters, with last season’s beaten finalists preparing to open their group stage campaign with a trip to Olympiakos.

Ahead of that clash, Belgium international defender Jan Vertonghen said: “We want to go as far as we did last year. We’ve got a nice group. Good games, nice challenges, teams we haven’t played against yet.

“Like 15 or 20 teams feel like they belong there, so we’ve got a big challenge. But we had a great run last year and we want to repeat it.

“We’ve earned their respect now. Teams treat us differently than a couple of years ago. But they will look at us as an outsider.”

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