Serge Aurier reportedly saw a move from Tottenham to Atletico Madrid collapse this summer.
The 25-year-old defender only joined the North London side from Paris Saint-Germain 12 months ago in a £23m deal.
However RMC Sport claim he almost left Spurs for the La Liga giants before the Premier League club pulled the plug on the switch.
The article states Atletico held talks over the transfer and Mauricio Pochettino’s outfit were open to the switch, with Borussia Dortmund also interested in his services.
But Aurier’s potentially move to Spain broke down at the last-minute for an unspecified reason.
The right-back became one of the most in-demand players in Europe after his impressive displays for Ivory Coast at the 2014 World Cup.
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PSG won the race for his services but he struggled to nail down a regular spot and eventually led to him making the switch to Spurs as a replacement for Kyle Walker.
He failed to impose himself in the starting XI as Kieran Trippier became Poch’s first-choice as many supporters questioned the star’s defensive abilities and mentality.
Atletico were looking for someone to fill the void left by Inter Milan-bound Sime Vrsaljko but eventually went for PSV’s Santiago Arias after their attempt to bring Aurier to the capital was thwarted.
The ace did start for Spurs at Newcastle on Saturday and he provided the assist for Dele Alli to head home the winner in the 2-1 victory.
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