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Paul Merson says Tottenham star Rodrigo Bentancur is a ‘world-beater’ when Conte doesn’t hold him back
Paul Merson has urged Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte to give Rodrigo Bentancur more freedom to attack.
The Uruguayan has proved to be a big goal threat for Spurs recently. He scored the equaliser against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League two weeks ago, before finding a late winner against Bournemouth in the Premier League last weekend.
He has been brilliant, and Merson wants to see more of him in attack.
Paul Merson says Tottenham star Rodrigo Bentancur can be a ‘world-beater’
Spurs signed Bentancur from Juventus for just £15.8 million () in January this year. That is proving to be an absolute bargain now, with the Uruguayan one of the first names on Conte’s team sheet.
However, what really annoys some Spurs fans is the fact that Conte often instructs both Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to sit back and only act as holding midfielders.
Merson believes that if Bentancur is not held back by Conte and is given the freedom to attack, he will be a world-beater. He has urged the Spurs boss to ‘let him off the leash’ more often.
The pundit wrote in his column on : “Tottenham are a weird one.
“They are third in the Premier League and won their Champions League group but they still haven’t played well yet. They’ve had a few good halves but they haven’t been outstanding by a long stretch.
“The midfield lineup at Bournemouth was so negative. It’s like come on, you’ve got good players. When Rodrigo Bentancur was let off the leash, he looked a world-beater. It needs to happen more often.”
TBR View:
Bentancur really does have the quality to be a real threat in attack.
The Uruguayan is good on the ball, can pick a pass and as he has shown over the last two weeks, his finishing is not too bad either. His two goals have both helped Spurs massively, and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be allowed to play higher up the pitch.
Tottenham take on Liverpool next and Bentancur is almost guaranteed to start. However, we expect Conte to deploy the Uruguayan as a holding midfielder yet again.
However, if Spurs continue their theme of conceding first and chasing the game, Conte may well decide to push the Uruguayan further up the pitch to get his side back into the game.
