Tottenham Hotspur's decision to sign Serge Aurier from PSG would backfire in more ways than one and it must go down as a shocking piece of business by Daniel Levy.

The Ivory Coast international arrived from PSG in a £23m deal in the summer of 2017 and would go on to make 110 appearances for Spurs, contributing eight goals and 17 assists.

Aurier's performances on the pitch were far from consistent, as he often looked good going forwards but was always suspect from a defensive point of view, with his record of blocks and clearances per game in the 2019/20 campaign some of the lowest in Spurs' squad.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher was less than impressed with Aurier's defending in the League Cup final defeat against Manchester City, saying (via talkSPORT):

“Aurier is maybe one of the biggest liabilities in Premier League football and is a player who would possibly put you off management with the amount of crazy decisions he makes."

The former PSG man's problems were not completely on the pitch as well, as he was regularly guilty of breaking lockdown rules during the pandemic, while he was also reportedly arrested for assault in 2019, which did little to improve his standing amongst Spurs supporters.

The warning signs were there for Levy, after Aurier was also arrested during his time at PSG, so it seems strange that he was willing to spend such a significant fee on a player who was clearly controversial both on and off the pitch.

While he was something of a regular under Jose Mourinho in his first season in charge of Spurs, making 33 appearances in the top flight, he was limited to just 19 Premier League appearances in the 2020/21 campaign.

It was no surprise to see him released on a free transfer at the end of that season, with Spurs failing to recoup any of their £23m fee, which surely represents poor business by Levy, especially given his reputation for being a tough negotiator and something of a transfer guru.

Aurier would spend one season with Villareal before joining Nottingham Forest on a free transfer this summer. The Ivorian is yet to feature for Steve Cooper's side but the Reds might end up regretting giving him a deal if he plays and acts in a similar way to his time at Tottenham.