Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to navigation
Fernando Llorente scored 15 Premier League goals in his single season at Swansea City.
Fernando Llorente scored 15 Premier League goals in his single season at Swansea City. Photograph: Nigel French/PA
Fernando Llorente scored 15 Premier League goals in his single season at Swansea City. Photograph: Nigel French/PA

Tottenham sign Fernando Llorente and PSG’s controversial Serge Aurier

This article is more than 6 years old
Spurs clinch Chelsea target Llorente from Swansea for around £14m
‘This is a fresh start,’ says Aurier barred from UK last year over assault

Tottenham have completed the signing of Fernando Llorente from Swansea for around £14m after sealing Serge Aurier’s £23m move from Paris Saint‑Germain earlier on deadline day.

The 32-year-old Spaniard, who was also a reported target for Chelsea, has sealed a move to north London after agreeing a two-year contract. He is likely to be predominantly used as back-up to England striker Harry Kane.

Llorente told the club website: “I’m very, very happy to join Tottenham, an amazing club. I can only say that I have come here to help Tottenham to win titles. I am 32 but I think I can learn a lot from Harry Kane and the other players.”

Mauricio Pochettino wanted a new right-back after he sold Kyle Walker to Manchester City for £50m and in Aurier he will get a dynamic, if controversial, figure.

“This is a huge and exciting opportunity at a massive football club and I am determined to prove myself,” Aurier told Spurs’ website. “This is a fresh start for me.”

Aurier, a 24-year-old Ivory Coast international, was given a suspended two-month jail sentence last year for an assault on a police officer outside a nightclub in Paris. However he protested his innocence and appealed. The conviction had prevented him from entering the United Kingdom last November when PSG played Arsenal in the Champions League and it stood to derail his proposed move to Tottenham.

Under Home Office rules, a person with a prison sentence cannot be granted a UK work visa for another five years. But the French courts downgraded Aurier’s “convertible” sentence to a fine, meaning he was able to apply as normal for the permit. On Wednesday the Home Office informed Spurs the application was successful.

Pochettino has also added the Colombia centre-half Davinson Sánchez for a club record £42m from Ajax and the Argentinian full-back Juan Foyth from Estudiantes. Kevin Wimmer has been sold to Stoke City for £18m and Cameron Carter-Vickers has been loaned to Sheffield United for the season.

Most viewed

Most viewed