In the big news of the day, the Evening Standard reports that Tottenham had been hoping to hear from the Home Office to see whether PSG defender Serge Aurier would be granted a UK work visa.
Sky Sports had reported over the weekend that the 24-year-old has agreed terms ahead of a proposed £23 million move to north London, but that he was waiting on clearance to complete it.
Yet this clearance is still in the balance after Aurier was convicted for assault on a police officer in France, and without it – and without a work permit – a switch over to England can’t be sanctioned.
It leaves a nervy wait from those over at White Hart Lane to see whether they will receive correspondence from the Home Office in time to beat Thursday’s 11pm deadline that looms ever closer.
And there seems to be more than just the move for Aurier in the balance today, as the Evening Standard claim that Tottenham’s proposed move for Ross Barkley could be put off this summer.
It is thought that, because of the long-term hamstring injury that the 23-year-old is currently suffering from, the club’s owners are considering delaying making a formal offer until January.
It seems that the issue comes on whether to secure the signing this summer – amidst Chelsea’s interest – and oversee his recovery process, or take a step back and hope to go again in January.
In other Tottenham-related news, there was movement out of north London today as Austrian defender Kevin Wimmer completed his move to fellow top-flight side Stoke City on a five-year deal.
The 24-year-old will join the Potters in a deal worth £18 million, becoming the seventh summer signing to arrive at the bet365 Stadium behind the likes of Kurt Zouma and PSG’s Jese Rodriguez.
Speaking to Stoke’s official website about the switch, Wimmer said:
“I had some really good conversations with the manager and they were important for me. He is a very good manager and I like the way he approaches the game. His style of play suits the way I like to play too – he likes his defenders to be able to play out with the ball.
“I am just so happy to be at Stoke now because I really wanted to come here, to a Club with such big tradition, so I feel really good and am very excited about meeting up with everybody and getting ready for the matches ahead.”
Wimmer struggled for first-team opportunities in recent times following his switch from FC Koln in 2015, featuring just ten times in all competitions last season in a frustrating spell at White Hart Lane.