After the arrivals of Spurs loanee Danny Rose and former midfielder Nabil Bentaleb, we’ve reached out to Ryan Curtis from SpursForLife to get the low down on our two NUFC new boys.
With both expected to make league debuts for the club ahead of Norwich’s visit to St James’ Park today, Ryan has answered our questions on the duo he knows well from their time at Tottenham.
Starting with Rose, here’s what he had to say during our chat about the left-back axed by Jose Mourinho:
Q1) What do you believe are Rose’s current strengths and weaknesses as a player?
“His strengths are undoubtably going forward, but he can defend too.
“Newcastle are getting a very good player and one who should probably still be starting for us if it wasn’t for his unresolved contract situation.
“He wants to move north to be nearer his family in Leeds and I’d imagine you’ll get a good few years out of him.
“A very good professional.”
Q2) Why are Spurs allowing Rose to leave? It didn’t seem long ago that he was one of the best LB’s in the league & a key player for you..
“It’s just one of those things with contracts.
“A player about to turn 30 who’s trying to get one more decent long term deal out of his career (his current deal extends next summer).
“Spurs don’t tend to give longer deals for players of that age.“
Q3) I’ve seen a lot of Spurs fans saying on social media that he was “poisonous” and has a “bad attitude”. What’s happened behind the scenes with him? Why are so many Spurs fans happy to see him leave?
“Not sure many fans on social media will be privy to the exact details surrounding him! [He’s suffered with mental health issues]
“Spurs have managed some contract situations poorly within the squad over the past year and it’s come to a head with a few of them, hence our poor form.
“As for Rose specifically, you could never fault his attitude or application on the pitch.”
Q4) He’s replacing recently injured Jetro Willems and will play at left wing-back in a five-man defence. Do you think he’ll fit in well?
“Yes.
“He’s good going forward and at the back end of last season he was very good for us.
“Notably in the Champions League, where he played in the final and kept Salah pretty quiet!”
Q1) Firstly, what are Bentaleb’s strengths and weaknesses as a player?
“He’s tidy on the ball. When he was with us he’d sit in front of back four and start the moves.
“For weaknesses I’d just say he wasn’t as effective as what we had at the time.
“We played 2 in the middle and one of them was always going to be Dembele, then he was competing with 3 homegrown/British lads who were coming through at the time Dier, Carroll, Winks and Mason. “
Q2) He’s not played all season at Schalke after being banished to their reserves for “disciplinary issues”. Is he a player with attitude problems? Is this the reason fe fell out of favour with Pochettino?
“Not that I know of.
“I really think Pochettino saw the value in these young British lads coming through at the same time, With Dier and Dele both getting in our best eleven instead.
“To be fair that spell was the best we’ve ever played.”
3) We have some good midfielders, but one thing we lack is a ‘box-to-box’ option who can be effective in both halves. Can he be that player?
“He wasn’t really a box-to-box midfielder with us though I’m not sure how much his game has developed since moving on.
“Always had him as a tidy technician type player, a bit like Shelvey!”
Q4) What is his work rate like? I’ve heard good things about his ability on the ball, but we’re a hard working team that rely on each player putting in 110%..
“I can’t say I ever thought of him as lazy or not putting enough effort in.
“When he broke in the side it was away at Southampton along with a few of the other young lads and we were flat out in our work ethic, covered the most yards in the league and he was part of that.”
Q5) It’s a loan deal with a reported option to buy for £8.5m. Do you think that’s a good deal?
“£8.5m isn’t a lot in this day and age for a Premier League player.
“I remember him as a tidy footballer, whether he fits into a Newcastle system is another thing.“
Let’s hope both can find their best form in a black and white shirt – starting against Norwich today!
