OPINION
If you took a peak on Twitter following Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League clash against Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon, you would be forgiven for thinking Serge Aurier had cost Spurs dearly.
‘Serge Aurier steals a living’, ‘Lacks mental capacity to defend’ and ‘I reckon Aurier might get dropped for training tomorrow he’s been that poor’ are just a small selection of Spurs fans’ comments after the game.
In fact, Spurs had come through a tough test with a 1-0 win after Harry Kane popped up at the back post to head home Christian Eriksen’s corner and secure a vital three points.
Aurier started at right-back for Spurs and put in an undeniably below-par display, including an amazing three foul throws in the match, becoming the first player ever to do so in Premier League history.
The Ivory Coast international was a constant threat in attack for Spurs, getting into some brilliant positions, but consistently let down with his final ball.
He should have opened the scoring in the second-half when Ben Davies fizzed in a brilliant ball across goal, but the 24-year-old somehow endeavoured to get the ball stuck under his feet which allowed Palace to clear.
Defensively, Aurier was caught wanting several times, with his wayward positioning allowing Palace to break down the right on multiple occasions.
To be fair to him, the flyer did make one potentially goal-saving intervention as he managed to get back and take the ball away from Alexander Sorloth as he was bearing down on goal.
Overall, it was a performance that highlighted the stark contrast between Aurier’s strengths and his weaknesses, and one that left Spurs fans wanting.
However, supporters must be patient with Aurier.
It is easy to forget that the Ivorian has only just turned 25 years old, and therefore still has several years left of development.
He has come to the Premier League from playing in Ligue 1, which is a competition lacking in the same quality found on these shores.
Furthermore, he was playing in Ligue 1 for PSG, who dominated French football for much of his time at the club, which would have meant his defensive workload was low.
Given enough time in England, coming up against the relentless quality found in the Premier League, Aurier will no doubt improve.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino will make sure of that, as there have been very few players who have operated under the Argentine that have not improved.
Think back to Danny Rose and Kyle Walker’s early days at Spurs.
Many Spurs fans completely wrote Rose off when he was loaned to Sunderland, and the flyer came back to become first-choice for both club and country.
Walker was widely seen as a raw, talented youngster, but he was also written off by many when sent out on loan to Aston Villa and QPR.
Look where he is now: the most expensive English player in history and a key part of an all-conquering Manchester City side, after several years of brilliant service for Spurs.
Aurier just needs to be given the same time that Rose and Walker were, and there is no reason why he cannot make the same progress that they did under Pochettino, who worked his magic with the duo.
In fact, the 25-year-old has started under Pochettino with a much higher base level of skill than the other two, and therefore there is no reason why he cannot become a world-beater at Tottenham.