Tottenham Hotspur have a new midfielder in Rodrigo Bentancur after he signed for the north London outfit in an initial £15.9m swoop from Juventus on deadline day.
Spurs’ new man
As per the BBC, the Uruguay international – who scored for his national team late on Tuesday night in their World Cup qualifying win over Venezuela – has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal that could rise by £5m through add-ons.
He joins alongside fellow teammate Dejan Kulusevski, who has arrived on an initial loan costing £8.3m with an option to buy around £29.3m.
The 24-year-old isn’t expected to make it back to Hotspur Way in time for Saturday night’s FA Cup clash with Brighton and Hove Albion but he is likely to be in line for a debut in a week’s time when Spurs host Southampton in the Premier League.
Fabregas figure
Bentancur isn’t the creative option that Spurs have been crying out for but the Italian head coach has never really looked for someone in that calibre throughout his managerial career.
Take Cesc Fabregas for example.
Under Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge, the former Arsenal midfielder provided the creativity they needed to win the title in 2014/15. It was summed up by a phenomenal assist on debut that had even opposition manager Sean Dyche purring.
“The Fabregas pass is arguably the best I’ve seen in a long, long time because of the control, the awareness, the quality and shape of the pass — it lands perfectly for him (Andre Schurrle) to guide it into the goal.”
He went on to register a whopping 18 assists in that campaign.
But when Conte took the dugout the following year, he was largely resigned to the bench, barely featuring during another title-winning triumph. However, as he came around to the 52-year-old’s demands – that being a key cog in his system rather than the sole creator.
“You were a bit like a perfect machine — no freedom, but everybody knows what everybody needs to do,” Fabregas once revealed.
This is what Conte will be getting from Bentancur, something that the likes of Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso were probably not willing to give up, hence their departures on loan on deadline day.
Indeed, this has been backed up by The Athletic’s Italian football expert James Horncastle, who said:
“He’ll do a lot of the dirty work that will allow Spurs’ flair players to do their best work, and certainly having a lot of blue-collar players in the Conte team – he’s always valued players like that.”
The Uruguayan is certainly a reliable and durable option in the heart of the pitch, one capable of protecting the backline efficiently. No player at Juventus had managed more interceptions (73) and tackles (95) combined (168) than him since the start of the 2020/21 season.
Smarter Scout describe him as an “aggressive defender who’s an excellent tackler”, whilst Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport have previously described him as an “extraordinary talent” (in quotes sourced by football.london).
The £22.5m-rated beast could well emerge as Conte’s new Fabregas in north London this season.
AND in other news, Levy masterclass: Spurs just played a blinder over “unplayable” £34.2m-rated disaster…
