How Bentancur has boosted Spurs

It only took a few moments of Rodrigo Bentancur's Premier League debut for the Uruguayan to provide a glimpse of his quality.

His first contribution was a smart turn away from trouble in midfield; his second a pinpoint cross-field pass to Lucas Moura.

Bentancur, a £21.5m signing from Juventus at the end of January, had replaced Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg with 60 minutes gone against Southampton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Already he had the home fans purring.

The game would end in disappointment for Spurs, late goals from Mohamed Elyounoussi and Che Adams securing a dramatic 3-2 win for Saints, but Bentancur's bow augured well for what was to come.

Two months on, he is living up to his early promise.

Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son have earned most of the plaudits for Tottenham's recent improvement, scoring seven and four goals respectively during the run of five wins from seven games which has reignited their top-four challenge.

But Bentancur, together with his former Juventus team-mate Dejan Kulusevski, who followed him from Turin to north London on the same day, has played an important part too.

Alongside Hojbjerg in a two-man midfield, and in the absence of the injured Oliver Skipp and out-of-favour Harry Winks, Bentancur has brought balance and control in the centre of the pitch, averaging more touches and passes per 90 minutes than anyone else.

Bentancur's ability to hold onto the ball in tight spaces has aided Spurs, while supporters have also welcomed his willingness to play forward when the situation demands it - just as he did for the second goal in their recent 2-0 win over Brighton.

That through ball for Kane earned him his first assist, but his pass to the same player in the lead-up to Tottenham's second