Spurs keen on signing “special” £41m upgrade on Bentancur

It was a season of mixed fortunes for Tottenham Hotspur this year. For the first ten games or so, they looked like one of the best teams in the Premier League, but ultimately finished just outside the Champions League places.

With their pre-season expectations and injury problems throughout the campaign, it would be fair to say that Ange Postecoglou has enjoyed a successful first year in North London, although Daniel Levy and Co will need to back him properly over the coming months if they want to see him take the team further in 2024/25.

The good news for fans is that, based on recent reports, that might happen, although the latest name touted for a move to N17 could spell trouble for Rodrigo Bentancur.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

According to a recent report from Italy, Tottenham are strongly interested in Inter Milan’s talented midfielder Davide Frattesi and could make an offer for the player in the ‘coming weeks.’

That offer would comprise a €30m – £26m – cash component and the offer of full-back Emerson Royal, which, according to the report, would make the full transfer worth around €48m or £41m.

While the idea of bringing in a new midfielder for a reasonable fee and finally getting rid of Royal sounds like a brilliant business move, the Lilywhites will have to contend with other interested parties, such as Roma and Atlético Madrid, which could complicate things.

While the Nerazzurri aren’t eager to sell, this looks like a deal well worth pursuing in the coming weeks, although if they do get their man, that might not be so good for Bentancur’s future prospects in N17.

How Frattesi compares to Bentancur

So, if Postecoglou were to get his man in the summer, it’s unlikely he would come to England just to sit on the bench, and so he would be in direct competition with the club’s other central midfielders and with Papa Matar Sarr showing so much promise at just 21 years old, the player most at risk of losing his place would likely be Bentancur.

Neither midfielder played a starring role for their respective teams this season. The Uruguayan played 1161 minutes of action in 25 games due to injury, while the Italian played 1555 minutes for Inter in 42 mostly substitute appearances.

However, while the Rome-born star only played 394 minutes more than the Spurs ace, he was significantly more effective, scoring eight goals and providing seven assists, compared to just one goal and one assist.

That means that the 24-year-old averaged a goal involvement every 103 minutes from central midfield, while the former Juventus star could only manage an average of a goal involvement every 580 minutes.

The comparison is just as one-sided when looking at the pair’s underlying numbers. While the Lilywhites ace comes out ahead for progressive passes, shot-creating actions, and passing accuracy, all per 90, he comes out second best in most other relevant metrics.

For example, the 5 foot 10 Inter dynamo produces a higher non-penalty expected goal and assists figure, scores and assists more actual goals, produces more progressive carries, more goal-creating actions and takes more shots and shots on target, all per 90.

So, with Frattesi coming out ahead in both raw output and underlying numbers, it’s hard to disagree with journalist Wayne Girard’s assessment that he has “something really special” about him.

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The special winger could make Postecoglou’s side far more dangerous next season.

Therefore, while it might not be great for Bentancur’s long-term future at the club, Levy and Co must go all out to try and bring the 13-capped Italian to N17 this summer.