Rodrigo Bentancur told to add more creativity to the Tottenham Hotspur midfield
Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Michael Dawson has urged Rodrigo Bentancur to add more creativity from midfield to help the team going forward. Dawson, who played for Spurs between 2005 and 2014 as a centre-back, was very critical of the midfielder for his performance against Manchester United.
Tottenham lost 3-2 on the night to Man United at Old Trafford as they failed to control the game despite coming from behind to level the score twice. The visitors had more of the possession, but they could not make the most of it. Bentancur was one of those culprits who was not progressive enough to break opposition defensive lines for his team.
Speaking to Sky Sports (h/t The Mirror), Dawson has suggested that Bentancur should be more creative, especially when he is playing alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. The ex-defender added that the midfielder cannot always be safe with his passing as it would not help them create enough chances to threaten the opposition.
“Bentancur, there’s got to be more creativity. You’re playing with two holding midfielders, especially if it’s Hojbjerg, they’ve got to create more. Bentancur, he has to give more into the team going forward, he can’t just be so safe.”
Room for improvements
The 24-year-old struggled to impose himself in the first half against the Red Devils. The central midfielder did well in the final 45 minutes of the match, but he must be more consistent, especially when facing a top side like the Manchester club. Let’s hope that he takes this constructive criticism into account to become successful in the future.
It is understandable if the Uruguayan is still wary of his surroundings and is restricting himself so as not to make any mistakes at a new club. However, the sooner he gets out of that mould, the better it would be for himself and the team as well. He needs to be more dynamic with his play, just as he was at Juventus and for his national team.
Having paid £20million to secure his signature from the Bianconeri, the Tottenham midfielder must live up to the fee we spent even if the circumstances are not best to help with his case. It is still early days, and we must not be too harsh on him even if Dejan Kulusevksi has hit the ground running since the January move. Not every player follows the same trajectory, so we must give the benefit of the doubt to Bentancur.
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We have a lot of crucial games coming up in the remaining months as we try to get into the top four places in the Premier League. Bentancur’s rise to the top would undoubtedly help us in our ambitions to qualify for next season’s Champions League. He must rise to the challenge that awaits him moving forward to ensure that he becomes successful with us in the future.
