Tottenham now have another truly ‘outstanding’ option to replace Maddison at No. 10 tomorrow
Ange Postecoglou, the manager of Tottenham Hotspur, has a lot to consider when selecting his starting lineup for Saturday’s match against Wolves.
Monday’s wild Premier League match between Spurs and Chelsea cost Postecoglou’s team four players for their next game.
The Tottenham manager stated that James Maddison and Micky van de Ven would probably be sidelined until the new year due to their injuries.
Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie, meanwhile, were sent off, suspending them for the early kickoff of the following day’s trip to Molineux.
Giovani Lo Celso is the most likely candidate to succeed Maddison in the starting lineup. But there’s also room for Rodrigo Bentancur to perform there.
The Uruguayan international’s ACL injury from February kept him out of action for months, but he is now back in action.
Bentancur will be hoping to play against Wolves after being gradually introduced back into the game during the last few matchdays.
Given that Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr have established themselves as mainstays in midfield, the 26-year-old may find himself starting at number 10 or coming on as a substitute.
Tottenham ace has World Cup experience at No. 10
Bentancur has previous experience representing his country and club in that role. In fact, he played three games at No. 10 and contributed to Uruguay’s run to the 2018 World Cup quarterfinals.
His assist on Edinson Cavani’s second goal in the 2-1 victory over Portugal in the Round of 16 was his most significant tournament contribution.
The Spurs star is definitely deserving of a shout if he was good enough to lead his team to the final eight and was judged worthy of passing the ball to Cavani and Luis Suarez.
It’s true that Postecoglou won’t likely take a chance on Bentancur right away given that Lo Celso, a proven No. 10, and Dejan Kulusevski, who has also played in that position extensively, are ahead of him.
Bentancur, however, is yet another “outstanding” option available to the Spurs manager.
Maybe he won’t just be a reserve, and eventually he might be vying for a starting position at 6, 8, or even 10.
