‘Talented lad’ – Pundit tells Conte to allow Spurs man to play higher up the pitch

Tony Cascarino has told Antonio Conte that he should be utilising Rodrigo Bentancur higher up the pitch from the start of games to maximise his attacking abilities.

Bentancur was the hero once more for Spurs in the dramatic 4-3 win over Leeds United in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, scoring two late goals to seal all three points for the north London side.

The Uruguayan has been in scintillating form this campaign, not only impressing with his ability on the ball, but also making contributions higher up the pitch. Bentancur now has five goals this season in all competitions (Transfermarkt).

While traditionally a deep-lying midfielder, Antonio Conte has encouraged the 25-year-old to push forward more during the latter stages of games this season. It’s clearly working too, with Bentancur also providing the last-gasp winner against Bournemouth a fortnight ago,

According to talkSPORT pundit Tony Cascarino, Conte may be missing a trick by not letting Bentancur play a more advanced role from the start.

He said: “I can’t get how they can’t start the game with Bentancur playing higher up the pitch, joining around Kane. Is it a coincidence that he’s done that a number of times and scored from positions where he’s further forward?”

Cascarino had high praise for Bentancur, adding, “He’s a talented lad, Bentancur. He’s the one who has got the most ability of the midfielders at Spurs.”

“You want to get him higher up the pitch. When he joins higher up the pitch and Conte pushes him forward, because they keep going behind in games, they look a completely different team,” the former Republic of Ireland international concluded.

Spurs Web Opinion

I’m not about to tell Antonio Conte how to do his job and he clearly knows how to get the best out of Rodrigo Bentancur at the moment. It would be interesting to see what kind of impact Bentancur could have if he was employed higher up the pitch for a full game though, and it’s something we may see as the season resumes.

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