Tottenham Set to Pocket £16m with Bentaleb Sale to Schalke

Tottenham are on the verge of completing yet another sale as soon as Nabil Bentaleb makes his 20th Bundesliga appearance for Schalke this season.

Although Tottenham allowed Nabil Bentaleb to go out on a season-long loan, because the Algerian midfielder wasn’t a part of Mauricio Pochettino’s plans for this season, there were rumblings that a permanent move would be possible after Bentaleb’s loan expired.

Well, that doesn’t seem to be the case any longer.

It turns that there was some extra terms added to the loan deal between Tottenham and Schalke which made it possible for a sale to happen if a certain milestone was met.

That milestone was to make a set number of league appearances for the German club.

At 19 Bundesliga appearances so far for the 22-year-old, after joining on August 25th nearly six months ago, this Sunday against Köln would mark Bentaleb’s 20th league appearance for Schalke this season.

Appearing in that game would trigger a £16 million sale for Spurs according to Sky Sports.

Because Nabil Bentaleb has contributed to eight total goals (four goals, four assists) in league play, and Schalke sit in 11th place at the moment, it makes sense to start the Algerian midfielder.

Bentaleb has already started in 17 Bundesliga games with two appearances off of the bench.

There’s no reason why Schalke wouldn’t start him as Bentaleb has looked revitalized as a central midfielder than when he was a defensive midfielder previously with Spurs.

The added incentive to push forward with more freedom — something he typically did two years ago, alternating with Ryan Mason — seems to have been kept under wraps with Pochettino preferring Mason and/or Mousa Dembélé to attack instead.

Once Nabil Bentaleb makes his 20th Bundesliga appearance for Schalke, his sale would represent the ninth overall player to be sold by Mauricio Pochettino and Daniel Levy this season and fifth midfielder in total.

Joining the likes of Alex Pritchard (Norwich, £8m), Nacer Chadli (West Brom, £13m), Ryan Mason (Hull City, £10m) and Tom Carroll (Swansea, £4.5m).

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Nabil Bentaleb would also become the latest Academy player to be sold, representing another productive piece of business for Tottenham and their Academy. Producing talented players that in turn can be sold at a good price.

Why still just 22, Bentaleb might have burned his bridges with the Club after contract negotiations broke down following his first and only full season with Spurs following the 2014-15 campaign.

After making 35 appearances in all competitions, 26 in the Premier League, it’s unknown what happened between the Algerian international and Mauricio Pochettino.

But one could guess or assume that Nabil Bentaleb might have put himself over the Club by wanting an extension instead of the Club offering him one after an okay-to-good season alongside Ryan Mason at central midfield.

Now, who’s to say what Tottenham might have looked like or become had Bentaleb stayed.

Eric Dier might have remained as a center-back/right-back (something that he is currently doing right now) because Bentaleb would’ve been the starter.

Victor Wanyama, he would have still joined Spurs to bring in some much needed depth as he was a late target during the 2015 summer transfer window.

Next: A Pair of Contract Extensions for Tottenham's Academy Graduates

At the end of the day though, Spurs receiving £16 million for a player who only made 11 total appearances last season after getting dropped from the starting lineup and suffering an ankle and knee injury could be considered highway robbery.

Sure, Schalke have a productive central midfielder in Nabil Bentaleb now, and a player that could have been great depth for Mauricio Pochettino, but Mousa Dembélé as the starter and Harry Winks as the backup is a good pair for Spurs.

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