Tottenham fans and Serge Aurier have an estranged relationship. The Lilywhites aren’t all massive fans of their Ivorian defender, and whilst the ex-PSG man certainly has his qualities, he’s become a regular whipping boy for many of the club’s fans this season.
The defender is one who, under Jose Mourinho, has found a real home for himself as a right-back with the freedom to attack like a winger, making things happen with his ability to both get into the box and find the target as well as whipping in deadly crosses for teammates.
His numbers this season all show that Aurier is a very effective attacking right-back, even if the fans don’t want to hear it. One goal and four assists in the Premier League (Transfermarkt) from defence is impressive, but the underlying figures to go with the goal output are equally strong.
The former PSG man, defensively, has averaged 3.1 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and 2.5 clearances per game, on top of 1.2 key passes and 1.5 dribbles per game, landing him an incredible rating of 7.18 for his league performances from WhoScored.
That rating is enough to put the defender 3rd in the list of Spurs’ top performers on a statistical level this season (WhoScored), behind only the incredible Heing-Min Son and Harry Kane, and if that isn’t something to celebrate with Aurier then we don’t know what is.
Will Jose Mourinho be a success at Spurs?
Yes
No
When football does eventually return we have no doubt that it will be just a matter of time until Aurier does something that has many Tottenham fans on his back again, but he’s provided some big moments for the club this season, his goal against Olympiacos the obvious one, and he deserves a lot more respect than he gets.