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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Former Tottenham Hotspur player Micky Hazard has been speaking about Spurs right-back Serge Aurier on the latest Last Word on Spurs podcast following his impressive performance against Crystal Palace at the weekend, and revealed he still has one big reservation about the Ivory Coast international.

What did he say?

Speaking about the former Paris Saint-Germain player, who assisted one and saw another of his centres turned in by Patrick van Aanholt against the Eagles, the 59-year-old said (23:00):

“Defensively, he needs to not be so erratic. His eagerness to win the ball when it’s not really in a winnable position leads to a lot of erratic tackles, bookings and I always see a danger of a penalty being given away. His decision-making process has to be better.”

Hazard did have plenty of positive things to say about the 25-year-old too though, also adding that his performance against Roy Hodgson’s men was “the best I’ve seen him play in a Spurs shirt.”

Is he right?

He certainly is.

While Aurier showed just how dangerous he can be going forward against their south London opposition on Saturday, he has proven during his time with Tottenham that he can also be a liability defensively – against Juventus in the Champions League springs to mind.

He committed one foul and suffered from bad control on five occasions at the weekend, as per WhoScored, so while his display against the Eagles was a step in the right direction, Hazard is right – there is still plenty of work to do if he is to become an important and consistent part of the starting XI.

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