Player Watch Player Watch: Rodrigo Bentancur

[fletch82]

Good

Well you ruined that

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

Bissouma is quite simply brilliant at not being caught on the ball. The way he receives a ball and then turns and beats his marker is absolutely elite.

Apart from the couple of times he was against Arsenal. He's better than Bents at that, though, whatever people seem to remember. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, I guess...

 

[carpediem1906]

I can’t believe so many of you forgot how good Lolo was

Have a watch, he is so aware, so good at intercepting and nicking not just turnovers but turnovers into counter attacks

And his pressing is world class - I thought he was motm against city in terms of how he covered passing lanes and stopped them from playing

And then his technique, awareness and calmness on the ball, his best moments aren’t dissimilar to Bissouma’s - both are amazing ball carriers and incredibly press resistant

And he is good in the air, winning most aerial duels and is a threat for attacking set pieces and a good defender for defensive set pieces

And he can spray them passes too (I’d say superior to Yves in this regard)

And and he gets in the box well and he can finish well too!

Sarr is good and ever improving, but there’s no way Bentacur won’t walk in right away

also, Deki n Royal both looked so much better with Bentacur playing

 

[mil1lion]

I mean lets be real here, Bissouma has been class under Ange but really struggled under Conte where Bentancur looked class even in that team last season.
Together along with Maddison is seriously going to be eye watering. We haven't had a midfield 3 like it in the league before. We would always have a destroyer like Parker alongside Modric or Wanyama alongside Dembele. Maybe the closest was when we had Huddlestone alongside Modric with VDV in front, although Huddlestone was a great passer but not as mobile as our 3.

 

[spursfan77]

Let’s just hope he comes back the same player.

 

[thelak]

What’s the general experience of players with his sort of injury coming back as good as they were?

 

[King of the Lane]

If he comes back at the same standard he was before then good luck to all the other teams in the league. Outside of City we would have the best midfield in the league.

 

[Gareth88]

I can’t believe so many of you forgot how good Lolo was

Have a watch, he is so aware, so good at intercepting and nicking not just turnovers but turnovers into counter attacks

And his pressing is world class - I thought he was motm against city in terms of how he covered passing lanes and stopped them from playing

And then his technique, awareness and calmness on the ball, his best moments aren’t dissimilar to Bissouma’s - both are amazing ball carriers and incredibly press resistant

And he is good in the air, winning most aerial duels and is a threat for attacking set pieces and a good defender for defensive set pieces

And he can spray them passes too (I’d say superior to Yves in this regard)

And and he gets in the box well and he can finish well too!

Sarr is good and ever improving, but there’s no way Bentacur won’t walk in right away

also, Deki n Royal both looked so much better with Bentacur playing

I can see us passing teams to death with himself and Maddison

 

[JayB]

What’s the general experience of players with his sort of injury coming back as good as they were?

There have been massive improvements in ACL surgeries over the past 5-7 years, and many players do eventually recapture their best form, but it's commonplace for it to be a long process. I don't think anybody should be expecting Bentancur to be at his best from the moment he returns, I don't want to say it's impossible but it would be unusual.

 

[SpursSince1980]

I can’t believe so many of you forgot how good Lolo was

Have a watch, he is so aware, so good at intercepting and nicking not just turnovers but turnovers into counter attacks

And his pressing is world class - I thought he was motm against city in terms of how he covered passing lanes and stopped them from playing

And then his technique, awareness and calmness on the ball, his best moments aren’t dissimilar to Bissouma’s - both are amazing ball carriers and incredibly press resistant

And he is good in the air, winning most aerial duels and is a threat for attacking set pieces and a good defender for defensive set pieces

And he can spray them passes too (I’d say superior to Yves in this regard)

And and he gets in the box well and he can finish well too!

Sarr is good and ever improving, but there’s no way Bentacur won’t walk in right away

also, Deki n Royal both looked so much better with Bentacur playing

Bang on. Last year, I felt he was our most important player until he got injured. It's not a coincidence how much our midfield got overturned in games after he was out, and the results reflected that. He is one of the very best midfielders in all of Europe. We are blessed to have him.

 

[punkisback]

Absolutely superior to someone like Rice he plays yesterday we win. Having Maddison, Bissouma and him would be lights out. The ball retention would be unreal. Only thing stopping them is casualness of play. Very excited to have all three there as they are all modern press resistant CMs

 

[SpursSince1980]

There have been massive improvements in ACL surgeries over the past 5-7 years, and many players do eventually recapture their best form, but it's commonplace for it to be a long process. I don't think anybody should be expecting Bentancur to be at his best from the moment he returns, I don't want to say it's impossible but it would be unusual.

I think it's so great that we have depth in this position. As (injuries permitting) he will have a long runway to get back up-to-speed - for when we will really need him. Which will be in January with Sarr and Biss will be at the AFCON. I can see him coming off the bench a lot once he is back to fitness. Getting 15 mins here, 20 mins there, and eventually building up to 30 mins... then 70. The latter probably won't happen until January... so, the timing is great. Also relieves pressure on him to come back sooner. As our midfield is doing fine without him.

I'd also add, that his versatility shouldn't be understated. He can be good in all three positions: 6, 8, and 10. I can absolutely see him filling in for Maddison if needed, as his skillset is so adaptable. He like the baseball equivalent of a 5 tool player. Someone who is highly adept at pretty much everything: Technical skill, stamina, intelligence, goal scoring, creativity, tackling, aggression, dribbling, aerial ability, press resistant, and also very good at pressing. He's another player that is perfect for Ange. In particular, having that multifaceted skillset and the intelligence to be adaptable should not be underestimated.

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

What’s the general experience of players with his sort of injury coming back as good as they were?

Pretty sure Gundogun was out for nine months with a cruciate soon after Man City bought him. He came back to a pretty high level after I think we can all agree.

 

[spursgirls]

I can’t believe so many of you forgot how good Lolo was

Have a watch, he is so aware, so good at intercepting and nicking not just turnovers but turnovers into counter attacks

And his pressing is world class - I thought he was motm against city in terms of how he covered passing lanes and stopped them from playing

And then his technique, awareness and calmness on the ball, his best moments aren’t dissimilar to Bissouma’s - both are amazing ball carriers and incredibly press resistant

And he is good in the air, winning most aerial duels and is a threat for attacking set pieces and a good defender for defensive set pieces

And he can spray them passes too (I’d say superior to Yves in this regard)

And and he gets in the box well and he can finish well too!

Sarr is good and ever improving, but there’s no way Bentacur won’t walk in right away

also, Deki n Royal both looked so much better with Bentacur playing

I’ve always absolutely loved Lolo but just reading this really makes me want to see him play again asap.

 

[spursgirls]

I can’t believe so many of you forgot how good Lolo was

Have a watch, he is so aware, so good at intercepting and nicking not just turnovers but turnovers into counter attacks

And his pressing is world class - I thought he was motm against city in terms of how he covered passing lanes and stopped them from playing

And then his technique, awareness and calmness on the ball, his best moments aren’t dissimilar to Bissouma’s - both are amazing ball carriers and incredibly press resistant

And he is good in the air, winning most aerial duels and is a threat for attacking set pieces and a good defender for defensive set pieces

And he can spray them passes too (I’d say superior to Yves in this regard)

And and he gets in the box well and he can finish well too!

Sarr is good and ever improving, but there’s no way Bentacur won’t walk in right away

also, Deki n Royal both looked so much better with Bentacur playing

Oh man, he’s just so good. He will be so good in this team. There’s one of his attributes that I feel we have really missed and that’s his ability to nick the ball away from the opposition player’s feet and regain possession. I love the guy.

 

[KILLA_SIN]

Rodrigo was playing good enough for the call to come from Madrid last season until he got injured

 

[Snarfalicious]

I can’t believe so many of you forgot how good Lolo was

Have a watch, he is so aware, so good at intercepting and nicking not just turnovers but turnovers into counter attacks

And his pressing is world class - I thought he was motm against city in terms of how he covered passing lanes and stopped them from playing

And then his technique, awareness and calmness on the ball, his best moments aren’t dissimilar to Bissouma’s - both are amazing ball carriers and incredibly press resistant

And he is good in the air, winning most aerial duels and is a threat for attacking set pieces and a good defender for defensive set pieces

And he can spray them passes too (I’d say superior to Yves in this regard)

And and he gets in the box well and he can finish well too!

Sarr is good and ever improving, but there’s no way Bentacur won’t walk in right away

also, Deki n Royal both looked so much better with Bentacur playing

It really feels like he’s going to be an absolute cheat code for this side when he gets back to full health.

 

[djhotspur]

It really feels like he’s going to be an absolute cheat code for this side when he gets back to full health.

Yeah massively. The mobility and dribbling ability of our midfield 3 would be an absolute joke. Benta and Biss would genuinely boss and other 2 in the prem. Imagine if we had him against arsenal up against veira. It would be been hilarious.

 

[offside_ruel_fox]

It really feels like he’s going to be an absolute cheat code for this side when he gets back to full health.

Couldn't agree more here. It is weirdly going to feel like a new signing. Same how Bissoma has felt this year. I think our rivals (fans) will be in for a bigger shock as most seem to have forgotten about him. Plus putting him into a quality midfield is only going help his game. Going from a fairly average midfield to verging on a world class one in 6 months is some progress.

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

What’s the general experience of players with his sort of injury coming back as good as they were?

There have been examples both ways. From what I understand, generally the older you are when you do it the harder it becomes to make a full recovery.

Benny has done it mid 20s essentially so hopefully he will be able to get back to his best.

The most similar one I can think of is Gundogan. He did his ACL in December 2016 at the age of 26 (he'd turned 26 that October). He recovered and went on to play at a world class level again. Benny did his in Feb 2023 at the age of 25 (he didn't turn 26 until June). So Gundogan certainly provides a lot of hope that Benny can get back to his previous levels or even better!