‘You look at Luka Modric’: Sky pundit wowed by ‘outstanding’ Tottenham player

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Stephen Warnock has praised the ‘outstanding’ Rodrigo Bentancur and the impact he has had at Tottenham, as he told the Football Show on Sky Sports.

The former Premier League left-back added, like Luka Modric, he plays the game at his own pace and he was the ‘best player’ on the pitch during Tottenham’s win against West Ham over the weekend.

Prior to the international break halting domestic football, Antonio Conte and his players boosted their chances of Champions League football by beating their London rivals 3-1.

Bentancur started the match for Conte’s side, and despite coming up against one of the top midfielders in the country in Declan Rice, he produced a brilliant performance for his team.

Even though the 24-year-old has been in England for only a few months, Warnock praised the player for already showcasing his worth.

“I was at the game and I thought he was the best player on the pitch (against West Ham),” said Warnock. “I thought he was outstanding.

“The reason I like him, it’s because he plays the game at his tempo. When it needs slowing down. I am not going to put him in the same bracket yet, but I look at Luka Modric. He will dictate the speed of play.

“When he wants to inject pace into the game, it’s not pace with his legs, in regards to running past people, it’s the pace with the passing.

“He was outstanding, with his passing, execution and vision – he is someone who, every time he gets on the ball he tries to make something happen – around about £17 million and I think that’s a snip.”

Whilst Bentancur isn’t like that Christian Eriksen figure Spurs desperately need in their midfield, he has added some much-needed bite.

Harry Winks’ form had gone out of the window and he wasn’t providing that physical presence and control needed from deep.

With Harry Kane playing that playmaker role when dropping deep, if Spurs can add a natural number ten to their ranks in the summer, and allow their star striker to stay further forward, then it will all start to add up.

It’s pretty hard having big transfer hits in January, but Spurs and Conte, during this short period of time, have done so with Bentancur and Kulusevski.