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Can Nabil Bentaleb Still Be Trusted to Play for Spurs?

By Alexander Balano

Jul 29, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Nabil Bentaleb (42) plays the ball as MLS All Stars forward Gyasi Zardes (30) of the LA Galaxy looks on during the first half of the 2015 MLS All Star Game at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 29, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Nabil Bentaleb (42) plays the ball as MLS All Stars forward Gyasi Zardes (30) of the LA Galaxy looks on during the first half of the 2015 MLS All Star Game at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nabil Bentaleb was a starter for Spurs last season, can he be one again?

For the past seven games Nabil Bentaleb has been nursing an ankle/foot injury that he picked up during training leading up to the away fixture against Sunderland. Or, he got hurt sometime during the 0-0 draw versus Everton at home. In any event, aside from the Everton game in which Nabil Bentaleb started and played the entire 90 minutes, the Algerian defensive midfielder hasn’t started this season off on a good note after cementing himself as a starter last season.

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It’s been well documented about his form declining in what was supposed to be — or could have been — his second full season as Spurs’ starting defensive midfielder this year. The Lille-born 20-year-old broke into Tottenham’s first team at the end of December 2013 during the 2013-14 season under then-manager Tim Sherwood. Following the ’13-’14 season, Bentaleb would later become a future star player for Mauricio Pochettino’s team last term throughout the 2015-16 season but would miss some time because of injury and the Africa Cup of Nations.

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Moving past Nabil Bentaleb’s misplaced pass against Manchester United which resulted in a Kyle Walker own goal and subsequent removal shortly after 53 minutes as a starter, and a 1-0 loss. Then, the entire team collapsing coincidentally when Bentaleb came on as a second half substitute for Ryan Mason for 21 minutes versus Stoke City which resulted in a 2-2 draw. Plus, only getting five minutes in mop-up duty against Leicester City, that ended in a 1-1 draw, it’s safe to say that the Algerian midfielder hasn’t lived up to expectations thus far this season.

While an ankle/foot injury has hampered him recently, once Nabil Bentaleb is fully fit, will he become a part of Mauricio Pochettino’s plans once again?

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More specifically, can he regain his spot as a starter and/or be trusted to play an every game role for a majority of the 2015-16 season while partnering up with Dele Alli or Ryan Mason for that matter? Or has his time run out as a starter for Pochettino and now he’s become one of the many talented backup players whose role will now be relegated to domestic cups and the Europa League group stage?

At just 20-years-old, Nabil Bentaleb has plenty of talent and potential to still become one of Tottenham’s best defensive midfielders as well as in the Premier League. There was a time that Liverpool seemed to be sniffing around to sign Bentaleb before Spurs would sign him to a five-year contract extension. There was no chance that Spurs would let a player of Nabil Bentaleb’s potential and talent leave after one-and-a-half seasons. But so far, minus Bentaleb’s injury getting in the way, the Algerian international will have a tough time convincing Pochettino that he is — right now — a better option than Eric Dier.

Continuing on, if Nabil Bentaleb’s form or confidence is damaged, getting regular starts to hopefully snap out of it and work things out would be a terrible decision as it will ultimately cost Spurs some games and their best defensive midfielder right now, Eric Dier, from starting again until Bentaleb is benched.

With that said, there’s a chance that Nabil Bentaleb right now can’t be trusted to play as a starter in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting eleven, just like Federico Fazio after his debacle versus Arsenal in the Capital One Cup, and to an extent Michel Vorm. Both Fazio and Vorm look to be about done in terms of starting for Spurs in the near future. Early in the season besides the Everton game, Nabil Bentaleb was in a similar situation before being injured. His form was off and mentally, Bentaleb looked incapable of playing for whatever reason. As of right now, with how the season has gone, Mauricio Pochettino has no need to give Nabil Bentaleb starts in the Premier League and to trust him to do a good or better job over Eric Dier unless, Dier needs rest, has a dip in form or suffers an injury.

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