When you think of Serge Aurier, the first thing that perhaps comes to mind is of a player who recklessly dives in for challenges and concedes mind-numbing penalties.
And in truth, the Ivory Coast international has had his fair share of his daft moments since joining Tottenham for a reported £23m back in 2017.
By the end of October 2019, Aurier had conceded four spot-kicks for the club, whilst he also hit back at a fan on social media for criticising him in the aftermath of Spurs’ 2-0 win over Manchester City earlier this month – a game which saw him needlessly bring down Sergio Aguero inside the box.
When asked earlier this campaign whether the Ivorian is top-four quality, former Spurs striker Darren Bent remarked: “No, personally no. Defensively, he’s all over the place, positionally, he’s all over the place. People aimed a lot of Trippier but you knew what you were getting from Trippier. Aurier, he’s powerful, but he’s often left wanting.”
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But whilst the 27-year-old signed by Mauricio Pochettino has had a couple of nightmare moments this season like the one against City, his statistics this season in the Premier League have been impressive to say the least.
As per Whoscored, Aurier ranks incredibly highly for a number of key stats for Spurs, including offensively and defensively. This is a man who can contribute effectively at both ends of the pitch, and does so better than most of the north London side’s players.
But when you give away penalties, particularly on games aired on national TV, then those are the memories that stick out like a sore thumb for fans and pundits alike. Those are the types of incidents that make the highlights package and end up getting entrenched in your brain. All the good things that are done simply get forgotten.
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The 27-year-old is a consistently influential performer for the Lilywhites, with no-one making more tackles per game than him, and only one providing more assists and interceptions.
Aurier has enjoyed a productive campaign going forward and back, and he is surely beginning to silence the doubters.
Meanwhile, Tottenham should exploit this ace as an attacking midfielder.