Tottenham Hotspur veteran center midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been one of the pleasant surprises of an otherwise dismal start to the 2026/27 Premier League season for the club. He has been the best midfielder or attacking player in the league for Spurs this campaign, and while that is not necessarily saying much with how poorly the rest of his teammates have been playing, with the notable exception of young Mateus Fernandes, it is nonetheless a significant feather in his cap.
Bentancur has been one of the better Premier League midfielders to start the season, and perhaps when accounting for how terrible the attacking play has been in front of him, that should actually comparatively boost his stock into being discussed as one of the best midfielders in the league overall thus far.
Because if you take Bentancur out of the equation, there is no way Spurs get their two points of the season with their clean sheet draws against Nottingham Forest and Everton in the past two Premier League Matchdays.
Rodrigo Bentancur will be sacrificed for James Maddison
Rodrigo Bentancur was playing shut down defense with perfect marking and reading of the game in both matches, and he was accurate, crisp, and actually creative with his passing in those games, especially in comparison to how little the likes of Sandro Tonali and Conor Gallagher were creating for the team.
On that note of creativity, though, Tottenham Hotspur need a real No. 10 in the lineup, and they should be finally getting that soon. James Maddison has not started since his torn ACL at the end of the 2024/25 season, and while his dislocated shoulder on Matchday 1 vs. Brentford derailed things, Madders did come off the bench against Liverpool in the League Cup defeat and played very well, leaving him likely to return to the starting 11 against Aston Villa this coming Premier League weekend.
And if Maddison starts for Tottenham, at long last, that could bounce Rodrigo Bentancur out of the starting lineup. The Uruguayan international has been a starter at the base next to 100 million pound man Sandro Tonali with 85 million pound midfield signing Mateus Fernandes as something of a de facto No. for Roberto De Zerbi.
Although Fernandes has played well this season, his first bad performance of the season, especially creatively, against Everton was a reminder that he is no 10. Tottenham know they badly need James Maddison, and because Tonali and Fernandes were so expensive, despite Bentancur honestly outplaying both, they are likely the bookend duo De Zerbi will roll with behind Maddison. Through no fault of his own, Benta's days as a starter are numbered, even as he should still play a key role going forward.
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