All Spurs fans seem enamored with Nabil Bentaleb the player. Place me firmly in that category as well. He's got great spirit, poise beyond his years and a toughness that seems the perfect embodiment of Spurs. However, the recent contract tussle has split opinion on our lillywhite hope. What should we make of Nabil Bentaleb?
The first thing we need to understand about Bentaleb is that he is an impatient youth. This quality served him well in breaking into the First Team at Tottenham under Tim Sherwood and really continues to drive his ferocious play. He simply won't back down to anyone and he's in a big hurry to be the best midfielder in the Premier League. Of course, there's a fine line between impatience/self belief and insanity. He straddles this line pretty constantly.
Perhaps the best example of his impatience is his selection of Algeria as his country for World Cup play. Playing in the World Cup is a huge opportunity that almost every footballer would jump at given the opportunity. However, would Nabil have been better served to wait another cycle and cast his lot with France? For Algeria, making it to the knockout round of the World Cup is the height of its ceiling. France, in contrast, can realistically set its sights on winning the World Cup. Bentaleb took the sure opportunity of playing a key role for Algeria over the chance to feature for France and compete for a bigger prize. Did he make the right choice? That won't be clear for a number of years.
While we can't fully evaluate his choice now, there is a lesson here for Spurs fans. Nabil Bentaleb is a player who wants to get every bit of what he can in the short term. He isn't suited to wait patiently and take the long view of his career. Instead, he is about maximizing value in the short term. We shouldn't be surprised that he wants to extend his contract and be paid at similar levels as Harry Kane and/or Ryan Mason. This fits in precisely with his MO. Wanting instant gratification with his contract fits perfectly into his history of decision making. We shouldn't be offended at his quasi petulant stance. It's not surprising and is also something that helps him be the player we admire.
I've also seen quite a few Spurs fans on Twitter begin to criticize Bentaleb for his contract demands and urge the club to sell. Simply put, you are morons. We have a young player, with a genuine affinity for the Club and world class ability. To sell him now would be even worse than what the same people criticize about Spurs in their sales' of Bale and Modric. Now, because of some contractual posturing you want to sell Bentaleb BEFORE he gets to his prime. It just doesn't make sense. Football players want to be compensated. Their agents, will frequently advise them to leverage the media to help in negotiations. This isn't an attack on Tottenham. This is a negotiation strategy that fits Bentaleb's past decisiion making. He wants to get every dollar he can in the short term. To hell with the long view.
So what should Tottenham do with Nabil? Simple, it must negotiate. While Levy will certainly delay negotiations and utilize the Club's considerable leverage in the matter to drive the price down to an acceptable wage. Bentaleb and his agent will continue to strategically flirt with every big club they can think of. Hell, today the papers have miraculously come up with a report about Arsenal's interest in our youngster. If you don't think that's a leaked story from Bentaleb's agency then you may be beyond help. Or you are a Gooner, which is rather redundant. Spurs will play the game with the Bentaleb camp and at some point you'll see a happy press release about how excited each party is to sign a long term deal with the other. Everything will be puppy dogs and ice cream until the next window when someone else comes knocking. This is professional football people.
So don't blast Bentaleb. Many of us would do the same thing he's doing with his negotiations currently. Are you the one who would tell your company that you want to repay their loyalty while keeping your compensation lower than the market rate? I didn't think so. Look forward to Nabil manning the pivot again next year! COYS!
Very nice fella.
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