Tomorrow night sees the last two first leg ties in the Champions League round of 16 matches. Whilst the bigger of tomorrow’s games sees Juventus travel to Atletico Madrid, the other game pits Schalke up against Manchester City. In the latter of those clashes, Tottenham fans have the chance to watch Nabil Bentaleb in action.
I spoke to Bentaleb about his Spurs exit, his mistakes and immaturity and why he now accepts Pochettino was right. He still speaks to Poch and cheers Spurs on. My interview: https://t.co/51mQfXbmRc
— Jack Pitt-Brooke (@JackPittBrooke) February 19, 2019
Bentaleb is a name that the Lilywhites will be well aware of. The Algerian midfielder came through the ranks at Tottenham and enjoyed an impressive 2014/15 season under Mauricio Pochettino before being frozen out in the 2015/16 season. He was then loaned to Schalke, where that move eventually became a permanent one, and he still plies his trade in Gelsenkirchen now.
The Algerian has been speaking of time at Tottenham and has claimed that despite arguments with Mauricio Pochettino he holds nothing against the coach that sold him. Any interested Tottenham fan can read the midfielder’s interesting comments in The Independent and after seeing how he’s come across and matured in the last few years, a lot of them wouldn’t be against re-signing the Algerian.
You can read the Lilywhites’ verdict on Bentaleb here:
I always liked him as a player but Poch got fed up with him giving the ball away in deep positions because he repeatedly wouldn’t listen to instructions. Had he listened to the manager I suspect he’d still be with us and be a better player for it.
— Charlespurs (@Charlespurs) February 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/pokeefe1/status/1097779539063783424
He has changed. I loved him when he was with us. Nearly impossible but would be great if he returns.
— Rohit Pandita (@psych_haze) February 19, 2019
Good read and no malice from Bentaleb.
— Michael James (@jogonformiles) February 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/leigh41/status/1097843764943564805
Brilliant read.
— James (@jamesmchale2607) 19 February 2019
Excellent interview! It also might help to shed further light on how Poch manages academy/young players. KWP, Onomah and Edwards at the moment are in different places but hearing Bentaleb confirm that he thinks Poch was right perhaps KWP is trusting Poch, whilst the others didn't
— Guy Shelton (@GUYSHELTON) February 19, 2019
The Lilywhites loved hearing of Bentaleb’s story and will be keen to see how the rest of their former midfielder’s career plays out from here.
