Conte could start ‘extraordinary’ talent for Spurs v Southampton, fans should be excited – TBR View

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has hinted that Rodrigo Bentancur could potentially start for Spurs against Southampton.

On Tuesday, the Tottenham manager said the 24-year-old was in “top form”. Meanwhile, the Spurs coaches were “working very hard” on Dejan Kulusevski.

Bentancur made his Tottenham debut off the bench in the FA Cup fourth-round victory over Brighton at the weekend.

The Uruguay international, who came on in the 76th minute, quickly won the crowd over with some silky footwork and showed plenty of confidence.

Indeed, Matt Hayes joked that Bentancur’s skill on the edge of his own box was “the greatest piece of skill” he’d “ever seen from a THFC player”.

As he’s in “top form”, there’s a decent chance Conte could name him in the starting XI.

Now, the prospect of Bentancur starting for Tottenham against Saints on Wednesday should get fans excited.

Bentancur could potentially replace Harry Winks in a straight swap, or Conte could include the January signing in a 3-5-2.

“Maybe only Iniesta I saw stronger than him”

Despite his young age, the Uruguayan already has 242 competitive club appearances at senior level, plus 47 caps for his nation.

In addition, Bentancur has 10 trophies to his name, including three Serie A titles with Juventus.

Conte and Fabio Paratici have both sung the midfielder’s praises in recent days.

But Bentancur has long been receiving huge compliments over the years.

Football.london shared a quote about Bentancur from Gazzetta dello Sport just a few months after he joined Juve in 2017.

“What has already emerged is his extraordinary talent to handle the ball, treating it like water in the desert,” they wrote.

“It is rare to see a (then) 20-year-old boy with his personality. Bentancur wants the ball at his feet and is always ready to start to move from box to box.

“The integrity of his repertoire makes him adaptable to almost every role in midfield.”

And last year, former Juventus head coach Andrea Pirlo also lauded the midfielder’s ball control.

“Mamma mia…ball and chain is the best in the world. Maybe only Iniesta I saw stronger than him,” Pirlo admitted.