Tottenham star delivers emphatic message to Mauricio Pochettino

Tottenham put in a dominating performance against Crystal Palace, but Serge Aurier‘s stellar play sent a clear message to his manager. 

Serge Aurier wanted to leave Tottenham this summer, but Spurs could not find an agreeable transfer for the Ivory Coast right back. His stellar performance against Crystal Palace on Saturday might catapult him back into Mauricio Pochettino’s long-term plans in North London.

Football London quoted Aurier this week as saying he’d “simply decided to leave” during the summer transfer window. He was linked to a few European clubs, but Tottenham elected to keep him in the fold. Even so, he seemed to be on the fringes of Pochettino’s squad as he failed to play a single minute of Premier League football in Spurs’ first four league matches.

An injury to Kyle Walker-Peters just before International Break opened the door for Aurier to get back into the squad. He played two effective matches for Ivory Coast during the break, but seemed to return to North London in good spirits. Partly due to his lack of other options, Pochettino elected to give him the start against the Eagles.

To say that Aurier took advantage of his opportunity would be a massive understatement. If not for Heung-Min Son’s dominant offensive display he could have been named the Man of the Match. His final stat line only credited him with a single assist, but his influence on the match was far more significant.

Aurier gave the Spurs a real attacking presence down the right flank. He was so effective in the match’s early going that Pochettino elected to tuck Danny Rose further inside on the other end of the pitch. That choice resulted in the majority of Tottenham’s attacks being initiated on Aurier’s side of the pitch.

It was his darting run down the byline that led to Palace’s own goal. Aurier doesn’t get any statistical recognition for that movement, but it doesn’t change the reality that he created the goal. He was a bit lucky to have his cross find the back of the net, but he made his own luck.

His assist to Son on the back post was a thing of absolute beauty. Aurier struck the cross perfectly and allowed his Korean teammate to strike a perfect volley into the back of the Palace net. It was just the sort of ball Spurs needed to really turn the match into a route in the first half.

Aurier will have sterner defensive tests in the near future, but he deserves to stay in Pochettino’s starting XI on the back of his Palace performance. His exemplary play sent a clear message to his manager that he wants to get back into the inner circle at Spurs.