Jonathan Woodgate has admitted that he has been left impressed by both of Tottenham Hotspur’s signings during the January transfer window.
Fabio Paratici returned to his former club Juventus to bring in Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski close to the deadline to help appease the Spurs fanbase.
Juventus confirmed that Bentancur made the switch for an initial €19 million (£15 million) which is payable over a three-year period with a further €6 million (£5 million) in performance-related add-ons.
Spurs landed Kulusevski an 18-month loan which saw the north Londoners pay Juventus a €10 million (£8.3 million) fee. €3 million (£2.5 million) of which is for the current season, and a further €7 million (£5.8 million) for the next campaign.
Both players have settled well into the Tottenham team with Woodgate admitting that he has been aware of Bentancur since his time at Boca Juniors and believes he offers a different dynamic to the Spurs midfield with his ability to play the ball up the pitch compared to the likes of Oliver Skipp, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Harry Winks.
The former Spurs defender revealed that Kulusevski was a lesser-known quantity but has still liked what he has seen from the Swedish international.
He told GentingBet: “I watched Bentancur when he was at Boca Juniors, and I watched him quite a few times at Juventus. I’ve always liked him. I think he gives them something else in the centre of the pitch. Hojbjerg, Winks, and maybe Skipp, they’re a bit too similar. When Bentancur comes in, he’s more progressive with the ball, he gets on it, plays forward, passes. He looks stronger in that position.
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“Kulusevski, I didn’t know a lot about him when he first came. But he’s got a floating role on the right-hand side and done well. He’s a strong runner with the ball. He can see a pass, assists well, so he has been a good signing. That’s what I mean about Spurs, they have to be creative and sign these type of players to really progress.”
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Spurs left their transfer business late in January and while some fans may have felt that Paratici may have gone back to his former club in desperation, both Bentancur and Kulusevski had integrated well into Antonio Conte’s side.
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