Tottenham Hotspur’s midfield looks so strong on paper but maybe hasn’t quite lived up to expectations in recent weeks.
You look at the names at Ange Postecoglou’s disposal and many Premier League bosses would be envious.
Yves Bissouma, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr, Giovani Lo Celso, James Maddison.
These look to be impressive options but the reality has been a little different of late.
Bissouma has looked off-colour for a while now and Maddison hasn’t been as impressive since his injury in November.
Hojbjerg and Lo Celso appear to be out of favour and few would be surprised if they move on this summer.
Lucas Bergvall will arrive at the end of the season to provide something different to Tottenham’s midfield.
Gus Poyet on Rodrigo Bentancur
Tottenham will also hope to see the best of Bentancur again next season.
The Uruguayan suffered a major injury blow in February of last year and then picked up another blow on his return to the starting lineup against Aston Villa in November.
Bentancur has struggled to get back to his best on a consistent basis, which is completely understandable after his injury problems.
The 26-year-old has so much quality in his locker and seems to be a great fit for Postecoglou’s style of play.
We haven’t really seen that on a regular basis just yet though and Gus Poyet has now offered his view.
Poyet knows what it’s like to be a Uruguayan in the Tottenham midfield from his own playing days.
Poyet has now spoken to Football London and predicted that Bentancur will be in the Tottenham side for many years to come despite the clear problem surrounded his comeback from injury.
“The problem with Bentancur is that injury stopped him in his progression and it’s tough and a difficulty injury,” said Poyet. “I am sure he is a player who is going to play many, many years at Tottenham. I am so happy to see him there. To see a fellow Uruguayan play there is always nice,” he added.
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Bentancur will hopefully thrive after pre-season
We have seen so many cases of players not quite finding their best form after a major injury.
Bentancur is in that boat but a full pre-season will surely help his cause.
The Spurs ace missed out on pre-season last summer – the first one under Ange Postecoglou – and Bentancur himself admitted that missing pre-season wasn’t ideal for him.
Hopefully, Bentancur will now avoid injury problems and have a full pre-season to get himself up to speed and back to his best again.
It’s easy to imagine Bentancur and Maddison thriving ahead of a real holding midfield player; let’s hope we see them both thriving again next season.
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