Pochettino admits it was a risk playing Tottenham’s Serge Aurier out of position

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The Tottenham Hotspur man was deployed in an unfamiliar left wing-back role against Liverpool.

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino spoke to reporters during his post-match press conference, and opened up on the merits of playing right-footed summer signing Serge Aurier in the left wing-back role, as quoted by popular football news website Football.London.

The 24-year-old joined Tottenham from Paris Saint-Germain on transfer deadline day, for a fee believed to be in the region of £23 million, and has gone on to make six appearances for the Lilywhites thus far, earning mixed reviews from fans and pundits alike.

The Ivory Coast international is a right-back by trade, and that is the position that he has been deployed in since his arrival from Paris, up until yesterday against Liverpool.

Serge Aurier

And Pochettino told reporters how playing Aurier in the left wing-back role might have been perceived as a gamble, but insisted that the 24-year-old has all of the attributes to succeed in the position, as quoted by Football.London:

“I think when you decide to play a way, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But of course always you have some idea, to play a player that is on the right with his left and is always going inside. Serge is so fast and strong and he played in Toulouse and PSG in that position. But we won and we are so happy and the credit is for the players. They played very well on the pitch.”

Serge Aurier

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With such a long and arduous campaign ahead of Pochettino’s side, having players who can operate in a variety of positions with distinction will be absolutely vital for them.

And if Aurier can prove his ability to do just that, £23 million will surely begin to look like an absolute steal.