Tottenham poised to sell the wrong right back in January

Reports from England claim Serge Aurier is available for transfer, but Tottenham should be selling Kieran Trippier instead.

The great irony of Serge Aurier’s two goal outing at Tranmere on Friday evening is that it may be one of his last appearances in a Tottenham shirt. It’s very possible Mauricio Pochettino and company will part with the Ivory Coast fullback if the right offer comes in this month.

The Daily Mail is reporting that Spurs are hoping to offload a significant amount of deadwood in January. Aurier joins a lengthy list of available players that includes Mousa Dembele, Vincent Janssen, Fernando Llorente, Michel Vorm, Victor Wanyama and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou. Dembele has done the most for Tottenham throughout his career of anyone on that list. Aurier has been the more productive player this season.

Part of Tottenham’s willingness to sell Aurier is due to Pochettino’s growing confidence in Kyle Walker-Peters. The English starlet looks like a real talent for Spurs. He’s not the most confident Premier League defender at this point in his young career, but he’s electric going forward. In many ways, Walker-Peters embodies the way Pochettino wants his fullbacks to play.

Walker-Peters isn’t ready to be the full-time starter yet, but he’s in an ideal spot to play an alternate role to Pochettino’s first choice at the position. That leaves Aurier battling with Kieran Trippier for the primary spot in the starting XI.

At first blush, the idea of selling England’s World Cup hero seems like madness. Trippier was justifiably lauded for his play this summer. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been nearly as good for Tottenham this season.

The harsh truth is that Trippier doesn’t have the athleticism required to play the game in Pochettino’s ideal fashion. If he is given time and space on the ball he’s capable of playing world-class balls into dangerous areas. The trouble is that he rarely shows the offensive verve to work his way down to the byline. Trippier seems almost allergic to taking defenders on with more than one dribble.

In fairness, Trippier is a more consistent defender than Aurier. The former PSG man is capable of committing himself to wild challenges that put his squad in precarious situations. It’s very possible his intermittent moments of madness will never go away. Even so, his advantage over Trippier in terms of natural athleticism make him the right fullback to keep.

In fairness to Spurs, the club are pretty unlikely to sell Aurier this month unless they receive an offer of £30 million or more. As such, the odds favour the aggressive right back staying in North London for the time being. Prioritizing Trippier over him is still the wrong move for the club. Playing it safe is a good way to avoid silverware and glory.