Tottenham target Serge Aurier granted visa as £23m transfer from Paris Saint-Germain moves closer

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Tottenham are on the brink of sealing their replacement for Kyle Walker after securing a work permit for Paris Saint-Germain full-back Serge Aurier.

Aurier, 24, had been awaiting a decision from the British Home Office after the government previously declined him entry into the country for the Champions League trip to Arsenal last November.

This was because Aurier assaulted a French police officer outside a Paris nightclub and received a suspended two month prison sentence. He was also give a £550 fine and paid £1,400 in damages.

Paris Saint-Germain defender Serge Aurier has a transfer agreed ahead of a move to Spurs

He has now been granted a work visa by the Home Office, allowing his move to go through 

However, he has subsequently been afforded a British work permit and can now sign a five-year contract as Tottenham have agreed a £23m deal with PSG.

It is just one of many blemishes on Aurier's CV. Earlier in 2016, PSG suspended the defender and banned him from first-team training for a month after he was filmed making homophobic slurs towards his own manager Laurent Blanc and striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

During an online question-and-answer session, Aurier was asked if Blanc engages in oral sexual activity with Ibrahmovic, to which he replied: 'He takes everything'. In the same video, Aurier went on to describe his manager as 'une fiotte', which translates into English as a f****t [faggot] - a pejorative term for a homosexual.

Aurier went on to describe fellow team-mate Van der Wiel as 'wetter than wet' and when said the Italian goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigiu, was 'guez' - colloquial term which would translate as 'useless' or 'finished'. Blanc described Aurier as 'pitiful and pathetic' in the immediate aftermath.

Aurier tweeted on Wednesday to show his delight at news regarding his work permit

But Aurier's 2016 assault conviction meant he was not certain to be awarded the visa

Aurier also provoked controversy when he was banned for three Champions League matches by UEFA after making 'insulting' comments towards a referee on Twitter.

After Ibrahimovic was sent off in PSG's 2-2 draw at Chelsea in March 2015, Aurier uploaded a video in which he described official Bjorn Kuipers as a 'dirty son of a b**ch'.

Meanwhile, Tottenham have announced the signing of Argentina youth international Juan Foyth from Estudiantes.

The 19-year-old defender, who has signed a five year deal, has represented his country at Under-20 level and links up with compatriot Mauricio Pochettino. 

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is set to fill the hole left by Kyle Walker's move to Man City