Nabil Bentaleb left Spurs for a loan move to Schalke in August.
Nabil Bentaleb
Schalke midfielder Nabil Bentaleb has told SportBILD, as quoted by ESPN, he has no regrets about his move, despite parent club Tottenham Hotspur making a strong start to the new season.
Bentaleb, 21, joined Spurs from Dunkerque in January 2012, and eventually become a first-team player under Tim Sherwood and later Mauricio Pochettino at White Hart Lane.
Nabil Bentaleb
The Algerian starred during the 2014-15 season to earn a new contract last summer, but he fell down the pecking order under Pochettino last season, making just five Premier League appearances.
After the arrival of Victor Wanyama at White Hart Lane, it was no great surprise to see Bentaleb move on, as he joined Bundesliga side Schalke on a season-long loan deal with a view to a permanent move.
Tottenham’s Nabil Bentaleb in action with AC Milan’s Nigel de Jong
So far, Bentaleb has endured an up-and-down time in Gelsenkirchen, whilst Tottenham have made an unbeaten start to the Premier League season, sitting second after seven games with just four points dropped.
With that in mind, Bentaleb told SportBILD – as quoted by ESPN – that he doesn’t regret his transfer, and wouldn’t even if Spurs were top of the Premier League table, as he feels Schalke believe in him more than Tottenham did.
Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse and Tottenham’s Nabil Bentaleb in action
Bentaleb also criticised Spurs fans, as he believes that Schalke fans are continuing to support the team despite losing five in their first six games, whereas he didn’t feel continued support in England with Tottenham.
“Even if Tottenham were on top of the league, I would not regret my transfer,” said Bentaleb. “They believe in me at Schalke. I made this decision, and a few defeats won’t change anything. We worked hard enough, in every match, in every training session. But we’ve made mistakes, and we need to cut them out.”
“But we fight and I believe that’s also the reason that the fans support us. I don’t know that from England. If you lose there, nobody supports you in the stadium,” he added.
Would you like to see Bentaleb return to Spurs, or is his time with the club over?
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