Serge Aurier in Trouble Again: How PSG Could Replace Him This Summer

Just when you thought it was safe to trust your right-back, Paris Saint-Germain were dealt a huge blow in the early hours of Monday morning.

Serge Aurier, the French-born, Ivory Coast international was arrested by French police and placed in custody after he was involved in an incident near the Champs-Elysees in Paris, per BBC Sport.

The Independent reported that the defender "allegedly elbowed a policeman in the throat outside a Paris nightclub." The Ligue 1 side confirmed that Aurier was in police custody but did not comment further, and it's hard to blame them.

Only three months have passed since Aurier recorded himself on Periscope and went on to talk ill of his coach and team-mates. After it was believed that the 23-year-old would never play for the club again, the right-back was suspended and then returned to start in both legs of their Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City.

At the time, Aurier had apologised for his offensive comments, saying that he had made a "stupid mistake," but there are reports that the former Toulouse full-back was less than sorry and had failed to show the expected remorse.

Monday's report from France Bleu (h/t Get French Football News) shows a man a long way removed from a figure trying to redeem himself.

They report that the "tone [turned] nasty between the police officers and [Aurier], with the player's friends "attempting to calm him down," but it was to be in vain.

Aurier kept repeating: “You have no idea who I am, you are going to have problems.”

Get French Football News notes that "the police officer who then attempted to forcibly remove [the player] from the car claims to have been shoved and nudged by [Aurier]."

Pierre Menes, a journalist at Canal Plus, tweeted on Monday that he believed Aurier's time at the club is now over and it is difficult to see Laurent Blanc being willing to hand Aurier another opportunity to save his career at the Parisian club, a feeling that Bleacher Report's Jonathan Johnson backed up.

"

@MurkePSG I don't think Aurier will play for PSG again.

— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) May 30, 2016"

It is a situation that gives PSG a huge problem this summer. Gregory van der Wiel is out of contract at the end of June and has played his last game for the club. That means, except from playing Brazilian Marquinhos out of position, the Ligue 1 champions have no recognised right-back in the squad.

They were already reported to be in the market for a back-up option, now they will be looking for a player who can come into the starting line-up and instantly add to the team—something that is not easy to do in the current market.

You only have to look at the right-back situation in the French national team to see that it is not a position that Les Bleus are brimming with options. Without competition or options, both Bacary Sagna and Christophe Jallet walk into Didier Deschamps squad almost unchallenged.

Serge Aurier was the best right-back in France when PSG signed him, and with the Ivorian possessing the talent to possibly become one of the best full-backs in Europe, it is a dagger blow that their time and effort seems to have been wasted.

One option that was open to Blanc, and it’s an avenue that the club will likely go down now, is to hand Youssouf Sabaly a place in the first-team squad. The 23-year-old has never played a league fixture for the Parisians, spending the last three seasons out on loan.

FRANCK FIFE/Getty Images

Sabaly spent two years playing for Evian Thonon Gaillard in Eastern France. The full-back played at both right- and left-back and quite often impressed for the mountain side. However, it was this season at FC Nantes where he seemed to blossom even further.

Sabaly played 28 times for Les Canaris this campaign, adding two goals in the process. He has shown himself to be strong in the tackle, good in the air and able to get up and down the pitch with ease.

He may not be in the same category as Aurier, but he is more than able to provide back-up in the squad. Sabaly can also cover at left-back, and his versatility could be key during a long season involving four competitions.

You get to a certain stage with young talent that you either need to use them, or let them go. Sabaly would be naive to go out on a fourth loan spell, but it looks like he will finally get his opportunity in the French capital.

Sabaly told L'Equipe (h/t Canal Supporters) just two weeks ago that he would be interested in playing back-up in Paris.

He told the French daily that he has learned a lot on his loan spells and feels he has made tremendous progress, both in attack and defence. He admitted that his target was always to play for PSG and that's where he wants to continue next season. He revealed that the secondary position could interest him because even training with the quality players in Paris could help him progress.

With Sabaly in the squad, one player who could make a case to be PSG’s starting right-back is Lille’s Sebastien Corchia. The 25-year-old is a former captain of the France under-21 side and has enjoyed a fantastic season in northern France.

ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/Getty Images

“When I hear rumours about PSG, of course I notice them,” Corchia told Goal.com when asked about a move in the summer. “PSG is the biggest club in France and has massive international ambitions, I am from Paris, and I used to play for PSG as a youth player. But it is not something that I think about.

There is no doubt that the season just gone has been the best of Corchia’s career. Outside of PSG, Lille enjoyed the best defensive record in Ligue 1, with the full-back playing a huge part in their success.

"

It is a bit like the France team. It is nice that people mention your name, and of course it would make me proud to be selected one day.

But my focus is on working hard every day with my club to always develop myself and to perform to my best level on the pitch for LOSC.

"

As they showed when they sold Lucas Digne to PSG in 2013, Lille find it very difficult to refuse big-money bids for their best players. Now that the champions need a quality right-back to jump straight into the first-team, it is hard to ignore Corchia’s quality, and it could be a struggle for Frederic Antonetti’s side to hold on to their full-back this summer.

Lille failed to concede a goal during 15 of Corchia’s 33 league appearances this term. He added two goals and two assists, but it is his ability to cover at the back, make timely tackles and protect the flank that has caught the eye for Les Dogues.

Speaking to Get French Football News, the defender also believes he playing his best football.

"

I have felt really comfortable on the pitch both mentally and physically – maybe as a result of having played more than 200 Ligue 1 games.

I know that 25 years is not old in football – actually not at all, but I really do believe, that I can see that experience now in my own style of playing, and I think i have progressed a lot this season – maybe mostly in my defensive work.

"

Both Sabaly and Corchia would be excellent options at right-back for PSG, the problem is, they are just not at the same level as an in-form Aurier. Once, the club and players were able to forgive him. Twice, it seems his talent and potential has bitten off more than it can chew.