Martin Keown was impressed with Tottenham defender Serge Aurier for his performance at the weekend against Bournemouth, but claimed he can still improve his end product in the final third.
The 25-year-old right-back scored one and assisted another as Spurs cruised to a 4-1 away victory in the Premier League at the weekend.
He was promoted to the starting XI by manager Mauricio Pochettino and has rotated the full-back area with direct competition Kieran Trippier.
Aurier has made a steady start to life in English football since joining Spurs from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer and has made 22 appearances across all competitions.
Pundit Keown has given a critical assessment of the Ivory Coast international and suggested that he can still do much better when in possession.
“He’s battling it out with Trippier isn’t he at the moment, who’s the best full-back at Tottenham?” Keown told BBC programme Match of the Day 2.
“He wants to get up and down the pitch, which is what the manager wants.
“But has he got the quality in the final third? Not quite… He’s very strong, a bully… No nonsense, he wants to win the ball.
“It’s just his final product, he needs to work on that on the training pitch. He’s intelligent. Now he’s part of the gang.”
OPINION
Aurier has had a mixed time so far in North London and on a few occasions has shown he has a rash side to his game. However, there is no doubt he has all tools of a modern day full-back and is a powerful runner that can be impossible to stop when he is in full flow. He is perhaps just behind Trippier in the pecking order right now and Pochettino would maybe just lean towards the Englishman if it was a cup final. Trippier has unbelievable delivery from wide areas and that is perhaps an area that his counterpart can work again. Aurier did get an assist at the weekend with a brilliant cross into Dele Alli and needs to show that on a more consistent basis.