Serge Aurier: Ivorian Defender Joins Villarreal

Ivory Coast defender Serge Aurier has joined Villarreal just few weeks after leaving English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspurs.

The 28-year-old has joined the Spanish giants on a free transfer, signing one-year deal with the option to extend for two more years.

Aurier had failed to nail down a regular place at Tottenham and his last appearance was in May against Leeds United, which led to termination of his contract.

The Elephants international has also played in top-level clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, Toulouse FC and RC Lens.

Aurier will link up with Villarreal after playing for Ivory Coast against Malawi in back-to-back 2022 World Cup qualifiers set for Friday 8^th and Monday 11^th October.

The defender made 69 appearances for Tottenham Hotspurs during his four years at the Premiership side.

He had joined Hotspurs in August 2017 from Paris St-Germain in a deal that was held up by work permit complications as a result of the defender receiving a suspended sentence for assaulting a police officer a year before.

Aurier has represented the Ivory Coast at the 2014 World Cup and started every game when they won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015, scoring in the penalty shootout win over Ghana in the final.