Pat Nevin has lavished praise on Tottenham Hotspur signing Rodrigo Bentancur, insisting that his form is coming of absolutely no surprise to him.
Tottenham only signed two players during the January transfer window in what was considered to be quite underwhelming, having missed out on a number of higher-profile targets.
Bentancur joined the Lilywhites on a permanent deal, while Dejan Kulusevski also signed from the Serie A outfit but on a loan arrangement.
The Uruguay international impressed in Saturday’s stunning 3-2 victory away to Manchester City on what was his second Premier League start under Antonio Conte.
And Nevin has revealed that he’s confident Bentancur will continue to improve their midfield, claiming he isn’t in the least bit surprised by his rapid transition to English football.
He told Off the Ball: “Bentancur is no surprise, absolutely none. I mean when you watch him in the Champions League, it is fine. He is this [Premier League] level and he will be okay. And of course, Conte knows him incredibly well and it just suddenly makes that look a lot better in that midfield, does it not?”
There’s a difference between big names and big players.
And although it’s early days, Bentancur and Kulusevski are looking like they belong in the latter bracket.
Even Conte himself admitted that Tottenham’s squad had been ‘weakened’ as a result of their January business, losing Dele Alli, Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso and signing the two Juventus players.
However, the three players that the Lilywhites sold or loaned out weren’t contributing anything on a regular basis and Kulusevski – who scored at the Etihad – and Bentancur certainly are.
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