Tottenham Will Only Sell Nabil Bentaleb Not Loan Him

Nabil Bentaleb is still on Tottenham’s roster and soon he could be gone. But perhaps he should actually stay.

The Daily Mail reports that Tottenham are only considering a permanent sale for Nabil Bentaleb, any loan offers will be rejected.

Between Bentaleb, Alex Pritchard and Federico Fazio, the Algerian international was a likely candidate to be scooped up quickly.

But that has proven false and one reason could be Daniel Levy’s asking price of £10-£12 million.

Since graduating from Tottenham’s academy, the 21-year-old’s 2014-15 season showed promise after being a full-time starter.

After that breakout year, the defensive midfielder has had numerous incidents plague him. From stalled contract negotiations, to injuries and a loss of form.

Perhaps what Nabil Bentaleb needs is a change of scenery, and along with Benfica, Lazio is also keeping tabs on the once promising Tottenham player.

Although with a fairly steep price for someone who is coming off of a down year and no loan offer being considered, no one has submitted any bids yet.

One would think that £10 million isn’t expensive, that it’s rather cheap, but it’s hard to convince any club to part ways with that much money when a player has suffered injuries to wipe out their 2015-16 campaign.

This is why teams tend to go with loans (which is a trial run) before deciding if they want to sign the player permanently.

LEICESTER, ENGLAND – JANUARY 20 : Nabil Bentaleb of Tottenham Hotspur with manager Mauricio Pochettino of Tottenham Hotspur during The Emirates FA Cup Third Round Replay match between Leicester City and Tottenham at the King Power Stadium on January 20 , 2016 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images) /

If Benfica, Lazio or Juventus were to agree to Daniel Levy’s valuation for Nabil Bentaleb, what kind of player would they be getting?

Would it be the once promising talent from two to three years ago? Or the player from last season? It’s a huge gamble and it could take a while to settle.

As for which position is Bentaleb’s best, that is still a mystery.

Under former manager Tim Sherwood, Bentaleb played mainly as a central midfielder (17 games) but spent a few games as a holding mid (3 games).

However, after Sherwood was sacked and Mauricio Pochettino took over, he moved Bentaleb to defensive midfield (26 games) but still played him at central mid (18 games) when needed.

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The total amount of appearances is nearly even: 35 appearances in central mid and 29 appearances in holding mid.

It’s safe to say that the 21-year-old can play both positions and should actually be kept on this team due to his versatility.

Something that Pochettino loves and most likely values a lot.

Unfortunately for Nabil Bentaleb it seems impossible for the Argentine manager to reconsider his stance on this matter.

Unless injuries takes its toll on the entire central midfield position which is highly unlikely, or no team bites on Levy’s valuation of at least £10 million, Bentaleb won’t stick around.

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Eric Dier’s transition from center-back to defensive midfield and playing extremely well made Nabil Bentaleb almost obsolete.

Signing Victor Wanyama essentially made him surplus to requirements at defensive midfield only.

Competition is needed at central midfield and Bentaleb, Ryan Mason, Tom Carroll and Harry Winks would have been interesting.

Though it’s too late now and barring any unforeseen changes, the 21-year-old’s time with Spurs is close to being over.