Jose Mourinho has to wonder if Serge Aurier is worth the effort after the histrionic against Liverpool

As Jose Mourinho runs through the rubble of Tottenham’s 3-1 defeat by Liverpool, he will inevitably revisit a question that he has in the back of his mind since he was appointed Spurs boss: is Serge Aurier worth the effort?

In the latest incident on his rap sheet, he stormed out of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at halftime after Mourinho dropped him off against the Premier League champions during the break.

The Portuguese boss has to think again about whether sooner or later it is best to cut ties with the 28-year-old.

Serge Aurier was unimpressed that he was lifted at halftime against Liverpool on Thursday

Aurier left the stadium at halftime and Tottenham lost the game 3-1

Aurier’s behavior distracts Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho unnecessarily

And let’s be clear, Mourinho took some convincing beforehand when it comes to Ivory Coast international.

He introduced Aurier behind the scenes in the All or Nothing documentary for Amazon. As Mourinho was preparing for a Champions League clash against Olympiacos, he turned to Aurier when he detailed how they should defend the set piece and said: “Serge, you will be one of the markers.

“I’m scared of you as a marker because you’re able to use VAR to impose a bloody punishment. So I’m already saying that I’m scared of you. ‘

Aurier looked visibly stunned but clearly used his manager’s words as motivation – he scored in the 4-2 win that Tottenham recorded in the game. Like Amazon and we all have to wish that there were cameras in Mourinho’s office on Friday morning when Aurier comes to training.

In fairness, any doubts Mourinho had about Aurier’s defense in his early days seem to have been largely allayed.

He has played under the Portuguese boss 49 times, 46 of which have started. The Olympiacos goal was one of four he has scored under Mourinho, while using seven assists.

But while his performances convinced Mourinho to hold out with the defender, Aurier has never been too far removed from false attention throughout his career – some of which have been far more serious than leaving a football stadium early.

He was caught twice breaking lockdown rules, once with Tottenham teammate Moussa Sissoko when they were training together in a park last April. They apologized, but the following month Aurier shared pictures of himself with a haircut when hairdressers and barer shops were still closed to fight the spread of Covid-19.

When he noticed that fans were picking him up for his decision, Aurier went to the social media platform again and said: “My hairdresser is negative and me too. So stop talking in a vacuum and put on masks and gloves when you come to take a picture.The training center (sic) is also part of the rules. ‘

Aurier has played regularly under Mourinho since he became Tottenham boss in 2019

Last year, Aurier appeared to break the lockdown rules with a haircut in May 2020

He had previously uploaded a video in which he jogged with his teammate Moussa Sissoko

In 2019, Aurier was arrested by police on suspicion of ABH after a late night argument with his girlfriend before he was released without charge.

Tottenham would have known about Aurier’s run-ins history before they signed him for £ 23million from Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.

He was suspended from PSG earlier this year for calling teammate Angel Di Maria a “clown” and manager Laurent Blanc a homophobic bow in an online question-and-answer session.

In 2016, Aurier was arrested in France after insulting and beating a police officer outside a nightclub. AFP claimed he stabbed the policeman in the throat. He was given a two-month suspended sentence.

And Daniel Levy must have wondered why they splashed the Ivory Coast international when he was sent off for two bookable crimes on his Premier League debut against West Ham.

Roy Keane often scrutinized Aurier in his role as Sky Sports expert. Admitting a penalty against Leicester for a thrust against Wesley Fofana in December, Keane said, “I want to be careful what I say about this defender. I’ve been on this path with him before.”

‘Total madness. There’s no danger, he’s not at the goal, he’s not looking at the ball … an experienced player, madness. He doesn’t think this boy. ‘

Tottenham would have known Aurier’s story with difficulty when they bought it in 2017

Aurier was even sent off on his Spurs debut after receiving two yellow cards at West Ham