Nabil Bentaleb is a highly rated talent at Tottenham, but the 21-year-old found only limited first-team opportunities under manager Mauricio Pochettino. The South American boss cannot be blamed for misjudging Bentaleb; the Algerian midfielder had managed only one goal in his previous three campaigns with Spurs. Bentaleb has shown a lot of promise, but Spurs were in need of players who could bring instant success. This meant that Bentaleb had to look for opportunities elsewhere and a loan move to Schalke seemed like the perfect fit.
The German outfit, though, have inserted a clause in the loan deal to have the ability to sign the player on a permanent basis for around £17 million. The initial few weeks of Bentaleb’s time at Schalke may have pointed out an instant return back to White Hart Lane for the youngster. However, he has been running the show at Schalke in recent weeks and the club appears to have been hugely impressed that they are considering the possibility of a permanent move.
Bentaleb has been a regular player for Schalke since September, but it was not until the previous game against Augsburg that the winger managed to score the first goal for his temporary club. He has followed that up with a man of the match performance in the 3-0 win over Mainz. Bentaleb scored two goals in the win to create headlines in Bundesliga. The 21-year-old has consistently been showing improvement on the pitch and he has two assists and three goals in his last six matches.
Of course, Schalke will not be making any hasty decision based on a couple of games and they still have a lot of time left to decide on a potential move. This may not seem to be the case, as German tabloid Bild reported that the player has already agreed on a four-year contract with Schalke. A player who joined Spurs as a youngster from Dunkerque, Bentaleb has the capability to get regular first-team football if he moves to the German club on a permanent basis.
Even though the player has a contract with Spurs until the summer of 2020, it looks highly unlikely that he will force his way into Pochettino’s team even after this run of form with Schalke. Hence, it makes sense for all parties involved to move forward with Bentaleb joining the German outfit and the Spurs receiving £17 million that can be invested in other areas of the pitch.
Spurs have been heavily linked with fullbacks in the last couple of weeks. A new defender could potentially act as a backup for Danny Rose and Kyle Walker at the same time. Current fullbacks Ben Davies and Kieran Trippier are both linked with moves away from the club in January.
