Nottinghamshire Live journalist Matt Davies has confessed that his stance on Serge Aurier has changed in recent weeks.
The full-back has started each of Nottingham Forest’s last three games after an initial substitute appearance on debut.
He signed a one-year deal in the east Midlands as a free agent back in September.
The former Tottenham Hotspur man completed his first 90 minutes in a Forest shirt as Steve Cooper’s side secured a memorable win over Liverpool at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon.
Speaking on the Garibaldi Red podcast, Davies has now admitted that he had concerns at first over Aurier’s arrival.
“I was critical of the Serge Aurier signing. I didn’t think we needed it but he proved me wrong in the last couple of games.”
TIF Thoughts on Aurier and Forest…
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The Ivory Coast international was the Reds’ final arrival of the summer and came in after Forest had already spent £16m to bring in right-back Neco Williams.
However, Aurier has started on the right in recent weeks with Williams taking up the left-back berth last weekend.
He received a 7.5/10 match rating for his part in the club’s second victory of the campaign and was credited for his ‘alert’ defending.
According to WhoScored, only Williams and Moussa Niakhate are averaging a higher match rating than the 29-year-old, and with the second-most tackles (2.8) per 90 minutes among his teammates, Aurier has certainly proved in his early performances to be a steady acquisition.