Tottenham announces Aurier signing from PSG for reported €25M fee

Serge Aurier was cleared to land in the Premier League.

On Thursday, Tottenham Hotspur announced the signing of Aurier from Paris Saint-Germain, as the Ivorian right-back inked a contract with Spurs until 2022. The transfer is valued at €25 million (£23 million), according to the Guardian.

Aurier was given a suspended two-month jail sentence in 2016 for assaulting a police officer outside a Paris nightclub. The conviction prevented the product of Racing Club de Lens from entering the United Kingdom and threatened to derail his move to Tottenham, as the Home Office's rules stipulate that anyone with a prison sentence can't be granted a work visa in the UK.

But Aurier's "convertible" sentence was downgraded to a fine, and Tottenham was reportedly informed of the successful application Wednesday.

Beyond the assault, Aurier was suspended by PSG after making derogatory comments about Laurent Blanc and his teammates on Periscope. He was also banned for three games by UEFA for a video in which he labelled Bjorn Kuipers, a referee who sent off Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as a "dirty son of a bitch."

Proud Lilywhites, Tottenham's official LGBT Supporters' Association, published a statement regarding the transfer, writing: "We were initially unhappy with the signing, but given our positive dialogue with the club we would likely to use this opportunity to build bridges and make lasting change.

"Football has the power to transform individuals' lives and entire communities. At its best, it doesn't merely delight us: it can provide us with a chance to transcend geographical boundaries and learn to work and play and celebrate together. Players, clubs, and the football authorities need to take this responsibility seriously, so what happens when players such as Serge Aurier who have been openly homophobic in the past join a new club and have a fresh start? It actually gives us an opportunity to talk about the kind of game we want to see, players we want to support; the kind of clubs we want to be and make effective and deep-rooted change."

Aurier, meanwhile, acknowledged that he's looking to forward to demonstrating "the real Serge Aurier" to Tottenham's supporters.

"This is a huge and exciting opportunity at a massive football club and I am determined to prove myself as a professional both on and off the pitch," Aurier said. "This is a fresh start for me and I will do everything to make the Spurs fan base, which is huge and diverse, proud of me. The fans are the most important people at any club and I am looking forward to showing them and everyone at Spurs the real Serge Aurier."

At Tottenham, Aurier will wear No. 24.