‘Very restricted’: Tim Sherwood says Antonio Conte is failing to get the best out of £20m Tottenham player

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Tim Sherwood has told the Kelly and Wrighty Show that Antonio Conte is failing to get the best out of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur.

Bentancur has been a standout performer for Spurs ever since making the switch from Juventus back in January (Sky Sports).

The Uruguayan has formed a brilliant partnership with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in midfield, which helped Spurs get back into the Champions League last season.

Spurs have not been in similar blistering form at the start of this season, but Bentancur has still caught the eye alongside the Dane.

But Sherwood believes Conte’s tactics are actually holding Bentancur back in north London.

Sherwood says Conte failing to get the best out of Bentancur

The former Tottenham boss feels Bentancur is capable of producing a lot more than he is at this moment in time.

And Sherwood says Conte’s instructions are actually restricting the player.

“I believe that the manager asks their midfield to do what they like doing [at Newcastle], rather than asking them to do a job that the manager wants them to do,” he said.

“Bentacur, for instance, has got a lot more than what he’s being asked to do – he’s being very restricted.”

The 25-year-old is asked to a very specific job in Tottenham’s midfield under Conte but has been given more freedom in the 3-5-2 system in recent weeks.

Bentancur has shown he is a very capable player on the ball and looks composed in possession. But one of his biggest strengths is his tireless work-rate and how he presses opposition players.

In Conte’s system, the midfield tends to sit deep and rarely press the opposition high up the pitch.

Regardless of Conte’s tactics, Bentancur has performed well under the Italian so far. But you get the feeling that he could be well suited to a team that presses more often than Spurs do at the moment.