Hoddle suggests Ivan Perisic tries new position for Tottenham

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Glenn Hoddle has told BT Sport (broadcast on 14/2; 20:37) that he would like Antonio Conte to have a look at whether Ivan Perisic could play in central midfield after Tottenham Hotspur lost Rodrigo Bentancur for the rest of the season.

The partnership between Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has been absolutely vital for Spurs over the last 12 months. Unfortunately, neither player was available for their Champions League tie with AC Milan on Tuesday.

Hojbjerg was suspended. Meanwhile, Spurs were dealt the huge blow of Bentancur being ruled out until much later in the year after he sustained an injury in the loss to Leicester at the weekend.

Hoddle suggests trying Perisic in centre midfield

That presented Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr with the chance to start inside San Siro. But depth may well be an issue for the rest of the campaign. Yves Bissouma is also sidelined for the next few weeks.

Graham Roberts suggested that Eric Dier could be pushed forward. And Dier would be a reasonable choice given that he has plenty of experience in that role. But Hoddle has thrown something of a wildcard name out there.

Perisic started at left wing-back against Milan on Tuesday. The Croatian has been decent in the role since his summer switch. And he is someone Antonio Conte can clearly rely on.

But Hoddle suggested that he may be worth looking at at Hotspur Way in case he can do a job in midfield.

“As a manager, I think Antonio and his staff will be looking at a player that can actually play in that midfield who doesn’t play that position,” he told BT Sport.

“I’ve never seen Perisic play there, for instance. He plays all sorts of positions. He’s one, have a little look in training to see if he can hold his own in that midfield because at the moment, at his age, to get up as a wing-back and defend in the penalty area one minute and then get up and attack the next, it’s a big ask for him, whereas in the centre of that midfield, sometimes you run less.

“Just an idea.”

Given Perisic’s versatility, it would be little surprise if he was indeed comfortable in the middle of the park. He has played almost everywhere during his amazing career.

However, there is a big problem with Hoddle’s suggestion. Tottenham have another injury concern right now. Ryan Sessegnon is another who has been sidelined for the coming weeks.

With that, there does not seem to be the opportunity to move Perisic. You could rearrange a few other players, with Ben Davies or even Dejan Kulusevski moving out to the left. But that presents its own issues.

Clearly, Perisic is going to be at his best on the left. It is hard to imagine that he would be so midfield that it would justify moving him away from Conte’s preferred role for him.