View: 63% Tottenham ace must step up for Ange, Marcelo Bielsa loves what he did recently

Rodrigo Bentancur must prove to Ange Postecoglou that he has what it takes at Tottenham ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

While the 27-year-old has shown glimpses of his talent since signing from Juventus in January 2022, he only managed to make 13 Premier League starts last term and was often substituted early.

With seven goals and seven assists in 69 appearances since arriving at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, there is no doubt Bentancur could become a staple in Postecoglou’s midfield.

The midfielder is currently away with his national team this summer as Uruguay look to compete in the Copa America, taking six points from six in a group with USA, Panama and Bolivia.

However, with Federico Valverde and Manuel Ugarte in the middle of the park, the player has become all too familiar with the bench despite playing 90 minutes in a friendly against Mexico earlier this month.

Rodrigo Bentancur must step up to prove himself worthy at Tottenham

Despite starting on the bench in Uruguay’s last match, his head did not drop, coming on as a late substitute and adding a fifth goal during a 5-0 romping of Bolivia.

He was able to complete 100 per cent of his passes and maintain a 100 per cent shot accuracy, as per FotMob, prompting Marcelo Bielsa, quoted via HITC [28 June], to say: “Bentancur is a great player, and I think it is good for him to find the goal.”

With an 86 per cent pass completion and having won 65 per cent of his tackles in the Premier League last season, Bentancur possesses the ability to be a perfect box-to-box midfielder for Postecoglou [FotMob].

He has proven his goalscoring prowess on multiple occasions, even ranking in the top 83 percentile among midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for total shots [FBref]. So, why isn’t he scoring more?

For non-penalty goals, he only ranks in the top 64 percentile so there is certainly something for him to work on with Spurs upon returning. But for calmness on the ball, he is Postecoglou’s guy.

Ranking in the top 91 percentile for pass completion and the top 80 percentile for progressive carries, his stats suggest that he should be nearly undroppable at club level, which has not been the case so far.

His knack for picking up yellow cards could very much explain Postecoglou’s decisions to drag him off early, having picked up seven yellow cards in 23 appearances, and eight cautions in 18 games last season.

Bentancur has plenty of aspects of his game to work on if Postecoglou is going to treat him as one of the key players in the squad, but he definitely has the ability to become exactly that.

In other Tottenham news, a Spurs insider has shared an update on Daniel Levy’s potential exit following a recent investment development.

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