It has been reported by many sources that Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur is set be banned for seven domestic games, having made derogatory comments towards Korean people back in June of this year.
The 27-year old is set to miss; Manchester City (A), Fulham (H), AFC Bournemouth (A), Chelsea (H), Southampton (A), Manchester United (H, Carabao Cup), Liverpool (H).
Due to the ban being a domestic one, Bentancur would be available for Europa League games at home to Roma and away to Rangers during that period.
How Spurs could navigate the absence of Rodrigo Bentancur
The clear solution is to play Yves Bissouma as the pivot player, with a midfielder either side of him a bit more advanced. There is nothing wrong with that in theory, but there is another potential solution that Ange Postecoglu could opt for.
That option is to start Archie Gray in there. Now, Leeds United fans will be the first to tell you that he is not a defensive midfielder. He is at his best as more of a box-to-box. That is fine, and that is probably true.
However, what Ange could do is go with a midfield three of Gray, Pape Sarr, and Dejan Kulusevski. In possession, you could have Gray sitting, being an option to help build up attacks, with Sarr and Kulusevski bombing forward.
Out of possession, which is of course the main issue when it comes to Gray playing in there – could be different. Ange could go with a 4231, with Sarr and Gray in a double pivot, and Kulusevski in the number ten role, pressing high. This mix would give Spurs good options in and out of possession.
On the ball, Gray can do what Sarr can’t do in terms of build up and passing the ball with his back to goal whilst being pressed, and then out of possession Sarr’s ball winning and space eating ability can be used to help Gray out. Not that the 18-year old is really bad at that side of the game, but it is clear that is not yet as big a strength as his in possession abilities.
The reality is that Bentancur is not a pure, out-and-out defensive midfielder either, and he has generally been fine when he has played there. It is his performances there that have fans worried about his absence – so he has clearly done a fairly good job there at least.
The suspension of Bentancur is far from ideal for Spurs, but if Ange plays his cards right, navigating the next seven domestic games may not be quite as hard as it looks at the moment.