Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has been advised that now that James Maddison is injured, he simply has to start Rodrigo Bentancur.
Craig Burley of the ESPN FC Podcast believes Bentancur would provide more creativity to Tottenham‘s midfield.
The Uruguayan has just returned from a lengthy layoff following an ACL injury in February.
Bentancur has made three substitute appearances in recent weeks but has yet to start a game under new manager Ange Postecoglou.
Tottenham had a dreadful six days last week, losing back-to-back league games to Chelsea and Wolves. However, the results will be the least of Postecoglou‘s concerns as he attempts to guide the group through a difficult era.
Indeed, Micky van de Ven and James Maddison were forced off during Chelsea‘s defeat and are expected to remain out till the new year.
Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero both missed the loss against Wolves after receiving red cards against Chelsea.
Spurs, on the other hand, lacked that creative spark against Wolves, as Postecoglou chose a midfield three of Yves Bissouma, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, and Pape Matar Sarr.
Postecoglou has been instructed to begin Bentancur now that Maddison is injured.
Burley made the case for Bentancur taking up Maddison‘s role in the side on ESPN FC.
“I think if you’re looking for a bit more creativity, you’re certainly looking at Bentancur,” added the pundit. “Perhaps it was a fitness issue because he had been out for a while.” He did see some action in the London Derby.”
“He [Postecoglou] said it himself about the possession they had, they were too conservative,” he continued. It irritated him. He was questioned about Maddison. ‘Look, it is what it is, we’re missing him,’ he remarked.
“Maybe he needs to look at his team selection and his make-up of that – how he can work his way around the deficiencies of not having Maddison and getting other people into the game.”
Bentancur has showed he can be a threat in the final third for Spurs, scoring a couple goals before suffering an injury last season.
The midfielder joined Spurs in January 2021 for a sum of £19 million and has been a notable performance under Antonio Conte.
However, Postecoglou will be wary of bringing the 26-year-old back too soon after such a protracted absence.
While Bentancur has several outstanding qualities, he isn’t known for his ability to split defences.
In our opinion, the Uruguay international is better suited to Postecoglou’s side’s box-to-box role, while Giovani Lo Celso appears to be the ideal successor for Maddison.
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