Sky Sports pundit has spotted a problem with Rodrigo Bentancur at Tottenham Hotspur

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Tottenham Hotspur fans have been largely impressed with Rodrigo Bentancur so far, but Michael Dawson has spotted something of a problem.

With Tottenham desperate for new signings in January, Fabio Paratici gave his former club Juventus a call and set up two new signings.

In came winger Dejan Kulusevski on loan from Juve with a view to a permanent deal, following teammate Bentancur to North London.

Tottenham immediately paid up for Bentancur, striking a permanent deal worth around €25million (£21million).

The Uruguayan has gone straight into the Tottenham side, mostly joining Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the middle of Tottenham’s midfield.

The signs have largely been positive; Bentancur has been a strong all-round midfielder, keeping possession ticking over well whilst getting stuck in too.

The goals haven’t arrived for Bentancur and neither have assists; in six games for Tottenham, he has recorded just five key passes.

Three of those came in the 3-2 defeat to Manchester United on Saturday, but pundit Michael Dawson wasn’t impressed.

The former Tottenham defender Dawson spoke to Sky Sports (12/03. 8pm) about Bentancur, sharing his honest verdict on his performance.

Dawson admitted that he felt Bentancur was being far too safe in possession, a criticism that has been levelled at the 25-year-old in the past.

Dawson believes that Bentancur needs to be more creative going forward if he’s playing in a midfield two alongside Hojbjerg, with emphasis on them to support Son Heung-min, Harry Kane and Djean Kulusevski in attack.

That hasn’t really been Bentancur’s style in his career to date, but creativity isn’t really going to come from Hojbjerg; that stunning assist away at Leeds United is unlikely to be replicated regularly.

Bentancur has the technique to be a little more creative, but whether Antonio Conte can get more of that out of him remains to be seen.

“Bentancur, there’s got to be more creativity,” said Dawson. “You’re playing with two holding midfielders, especially if it’s Hojbjerg, they’ve got to create more. Bentancur, he has to give more into the team going forward, he can’t just be so safe,” he added.