Tottenham Hotspur are going to be making some difficult decisions this summer in the transfer window, clearing out players who no longer have a long-term future at the club and making upgrades in order to compete at the Champions League level again in 2025/26.
Many of those changes are expected to occur in the middle of the park, as Tottenham were overrun in many games in the Premier League, finishing the season in a historically poor 17th place. Spurs need more control in the middle of the park and more technical quality.
Although he is a decent player, Rodrigo Bentancur has been speculated by fans as one of a number of veteran players who could be headed out of the squad as sellable assets who may not have the quality necessary to be top players in the Premier League.
Could Spurs be calling Rodrigo Bentancur 'captain'?
But Spurs seemingly aren't in agreement with those doubters in the fanbase. According to a report from TBR Football's Graeme Bailey and Jamie Brown, Tottenham are very high on Bentancur. Not only are they prepared to give him a contract extension, instead of selling him, but they are also even considering making him their captain.
Whereas Tottenham are ready to send Yves Bissouma packing after a(nother) disappointing season, Bentancur is set to be rewarded. The 27-year-old former Juventus midfielder has been an asset to Spurs since joining, and he recently stepped up his performances big-time when the club needed it in the Europa League knockout stages, occasionally dominating the competition.
Spurs need to continue to see more of that from Bentancur, who hasn't convinced the entire fanbase that he has the creativity or athleticism to beat the best midfielders in the league among the top-five teams. But against mid-level competition in the Europa League, Bentancur stood out defensively and with his quality of passing and positioning.
There are absolutely better midfielders out there than Bentancur, but he's also clearly one of the better players on the team right now. Spurs can't completely blow everything up and get rid of every veteran presence, especially not someone who has been playing well for years in Bentancur. Eventually, Spurs may have to find someone better than Bentancur as they aim higher and higher, but, even then, he should always have a spot as a role player.
Captain is a stretch and Bentancur shouldn't get too rich of a raise, but the Uruguayan international showed when Tottenham needed him the most this season that they can count on him to deliver.