A few weeks ago we reported on a story that Tottenham Hotspur had started talks to potentially offer midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur a new contract to keep him here past the end of this current deal, which runs to the end of the 2025-26 season. Now, it sounds like the reports of Bentancur’s renewal might have been a little hasty. There’s a new report from Matteo Moretto that suggests Bentancur might be of interest to Atletico Madrid this summer.
The report is in Spanish and doesn’t have a ton of information, and in fact comprises a single paragraph in what looks like a rumor roundup. But it does state that the 27 year old midfielder
One of the footballers that Atlético has recently asked about is the Uruguayan of Tottenham Rodrigo Bentancur. The former Juventus player is 27 and has played 32 games in all competitions in the Spurs jersey this year. At the moment I cannot say that there is a real negotiation between the parties because it is still early, but Atletico has had contacts to test the ground for June.
— Matteo Moretto, Relevo
That’s not a ton to go on, obviously, but it does bring up the possibility that Spurs might opt to push for two central midfielders this summer as they continue their rebuild under Ange Postecoglou. Bentancur’s performances have been um let’s just call it “mixed” this season, and he really hasn’t looked like the same player since returning from a major injury last season. Bentancur is asked to cover a lot of ground in Ange’s system, and he’s shown that either he’s not particularly suited to that role or has had a physical decline that prevents him from excelling there consistently.
But Diego Simeone’s tactics seem like a much better fit for a limited, but still peak age, player. In fact, I can see Lolo doing well in La Liga if he’s playing a simplified game that doesn’t ask so much of him.
It’s still really early and I’m not sure I’d put a whole lot of stock on this rumor quite yet, but it does bring up some intriguing possibilities as we head towards the summer transfer window. Tottenham are already signalling they’re willing to offload Yves Bissouma this summer and perhaps replace him with Real Betis’ American defensive mid Johnny Cardoso. Lucas Bergvall is also looking like a player who could have a greatly increased role in Spurs’ starting midfield next season, and Pape Sarr is not currently linked with any moves away. Selling and replacing Bentancur would be a heavy lift with some real dangers, but could also be the best thing for the club long term.
