Exclusive: Pochettino dig revealed, Levy-Spurs contract plot gets pundit going
Darren Bent has paid credit to Jose Mourinho for Serge Aurier's remarkable turnaround at Tottenham and had a dig at Mauricio Pochettino's coaching.
The former Spurs and England striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider assistant editor Russell Edge, admitted he used to "ridicule" the Ivorian full-back but insisted he had transformed his performances this season.
The Tottenham chairman was prepared to sell the right-back over the summer but is now willing to tie him down to avoid another contract saga in north London.
Bent has applauded Aurier for turning his Tottenham career around and suggested Mourinho has played a major role in his development.
Bent told Football Insider: "I think often me and you have kind of ridiculed him a little bit about how bad he's been but to be fair to him he's stepped up, he's been very good this season.
"Maybe it's the coaching because under Pochettino he used to make a lot of mistakes but its like Mourinho's come in, addressed it and maybe said to him: 'You need to be better defensively,' and he's bought into what Mourinho's doing.
"All of a sudden you start thinking he's actually alright, he's doing really well. So I think Mourinho's got to take a lot of credit. At the minute, where Spurs are, they're performing really, really well, all their players seem to be performing to the absolute maximum."
Aurier has played nine times across all competitions for Tottenham this season, with all but one appearance having come in the starting XI.
Notably, the former PSG full-back has started Spurs' last three Premier League matches despite the arrival of Matt Doherty over the summer.