Why Tottenham should go all out to re-sign Nabil Bentaleb in the summer?
Schalke midfielder Nabil Bentaleb starred on Wednesday night against Manchester City, even though the German club lost the Champions League Round of 16 first-leg tie 3-2 at home.
With three away goals, Manchester City have put one foot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but they were given an almighty scare by Schalke. And one of Schalke’s key performers was Nabil Bentaleb, who produced an eye-catching display even without his two penalties.
Bentaleb’s time at Tottenham Hotspur was ended prematurely after an argument with Mauricio Pochettino led to his sale in 2016. But the Algerian admitted to the Independent before the Manchester City game that he wishes he was still with Tottenham, even accepting that he was wrong in his arguments with Pochettino.
With the 24-year-old playing the best bit of football in Germany, should Tottenham re-sign Bentaleb in the summer?
Absolutely! Even though Pochettino has currently got a plethora of midfield options in his squad with the likes of Moussa Sissoko, Victor Wanyama, Eric Dier, Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp all vying for a starting berth in the Tottenham first-team, the team lost its midfield general in Mousa Dembele last month.
Dembele was a top midfielder and proved his worth time and again which made him such an indispensable figure for Pochettino’s side once. But as injuries started creeping in and the physicality of the Premier League became too bigger an issue in the last couple of years, the Belgian showed signs of slowing down and Spurs decided to cash him on rather lose for free in summer.
Bentaleb could be Dembele’s ideal long-term replacement and although he isn’t a physical powerhouse like the Belgian, he has a similar ability to glide past any opponents who don’t haul him to the ground. When playing with confidence, the Algerian international is an excellent tackler in midfield and knows how to breakdown the opposition attacks.
The 24-year-old has decent vision and the ability to pick the right pass in the final third, but he’s not a playmaker in the sense that Christian Eriksen and David Silva are. Bentaleb operates in a deeper position at Schalke and helps his side drive forward with quick passes and diagonal crosses to the forwards.
All in all, adding Bentaleb will not only increase competition for places within Pochettino’s squad but will also offer something different for them in the middle of the park. Hence, it makes complete sense for Tottenham to re-sign him at the end of the season due to the manner in which the Algerian has matured over the past couple of years.
