Bentancur ‘to be forced out of Tottenham’ as Palhinha update emerges
Rodrigo Bentancur faces an uncertain future at Tottenham with less than a year left on his contract.
The Uruguay midfielder made an amazing start to his career in North London before two serious injuries and a head collision saw him spend numerous months on the sidelines.
The 27-year-old has slowly worked his way back to full fitness, but never quite regained the same form he showed in his earlier days.
He was also shoehorned into a more defensive role to varying degrees of success by Ange Postecoglou, while off-field issues also landed the former Juventus man in trouble.
Therefore, Tottenham have a decision to make on Bentancur, especially following the latest update regarding Joao Palhinha.
Palhinha will only sign for Spurs if they offload a midfielder
To combat their deficiencies at the base of the midfield, Tottenham are exploring a deal for Palhinha.
The Portugal international failed to impress Vincent Kompany at Bayern Munich despite being signed 12 months prior and reaping praise from Harry Kane.
| Club | Appearances | Starts | Minutes Played |
| Bayern Munich | 24 | 9 | 941′ |
Tottenham are hoping to convince the former Fulham man to return to the Premier League, but will first need to sell a midfielder to make room for his arrival, as reported by Football London (22 July).
Spurs already have five recognised central midfielders in their squad, excluding Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, and the potential arrival of Morgan Gibbs-White.
Thomas Frank will have to weigh up which midfielder he would be willing to sacrifice to make room for Palhinha, which could see Bentancur forced out of Tottenham this summer.
Spurs should only look to loan Palhinha
Palhinha turned 30 this month and has three years left on his deal after moving to Bavaria for a fee of over £40million, meaning the defensive midfielder would not come cheap.
He had injury issues last season, which is the last thing that Spurs need, and he has barely played any first-team football for over a year.
There is also a question of style, as he is elite in virtually every defensive metric, but is not as technically proficient as the majority of midfielders already at Tottenham.
With so many variables, Spurs should only look to secure a loan deal, potentially with an option to buy, which could then be taken up if Palhinha hits the ground running in N17.
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