Ange Postecoglou told he’s got to start £19m Tottenham player now James Maddison is injured
Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou has been told he simply has to start Rodrigo Bentancur now James Maddison is injured.
Craig Burley has been speaking on the ESPN FC Podcast and feels Bentancur would add more creativity to Tottenham’s midfield.
The Uruguayan has recently returned from a lengthy layoff after suffering an ACL injury back in February.
Bentancur has made three appearances from the bench in recent weeks but is yet to start a game under new boss Ange Postecoglou.
Tottenham endured a nightmare six days last week as they suffered back-to-back defeats in the league to Chelsea and Wolves. But the results will be the least of Postecoglou’s worries as he bids to navigate the squad through a difficult period.
Indeed, Micky van de Ven and James Maddison were forced off in the defeat to Chelsea and look set to be out until the new year.
Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero also missed out on the defeat at Wolves after picking up red cards against Chelsea.
But Spurs were lacking that creative spark against Wolves as Postecoglou opted for a midfield three of Yves Bissouma, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Pape Matar Sarr.
And Craig Burley believes Bentancur has to come into the side to provide more of a threat in the final third.
Postecoglou told to start Bentancur now Maddison is injured
Speaking on ESPN FC, Burley made the case for Bentancur taking up Maddison’s role in the side.
“I think if you’re looking for a bit more creativity, you’re certainly looking at Bentancur,” the pundit said. “Maybe it was a fitness issue because he’s been out a while. He did get some game time in that London Derby.”
He added: “He [Postecoglou] said it himself about the possession they had, they were too conservative. He didn’t like it. He was asked about Maddison. He said ‘look, it is what it is, we’re missing him’.
“Maybe he needs to look at his team selection and his make-up of that – how he can work his way around the deficiencies of not having Maddison and getting other people into the game.”
Bentancur has shown he can provide a threat in the final third for Spurs and popped up with a few goals before picking up an injury last season.
The midfielder arrived at Spurs for a fee worth £19 million back in January 2021 and had been a standout performer under Antonio Conte.
But Postecoglou will be wary of rushing the 26-year-old back too soon after such a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
While Bentancur has many brilliant assets, he isn’t exactly renowned for providing defence-splitting passes either.
In our view, the Uruguay international is more suited to the box-to-box role in Postecoglou’s side while Giovani Lo Celso seems like the natural replacement for Maddison.
