Rodrigo Bentancur was four years old when his mother died. It is why he wears the No 30 shirt, commemorating the date of her birthday. When he was 13, he left his small town in Uruguay to live at the Boca Juniors academy in Buenos Aires. When he was 19, he had the chance to move to Europe, a decision that terrified him. “When they talked about the possibility of coming to Juventus, I panicked,” he would later remember. “I was very happy, but also very scared.”
The point of dredging all this up now is that when you have overcome challenges of this magnitude, perhaps you become more relaxed about the prospect of being outnumbered three on two in midfield. Life taught Bentancur to grow up fast, that the only real defence against adversity is fearlessness. This may well explain his unusual maturity on the pitch, the tenacity that has made him one of the most impressive midfielders in the Premier League and – with apologies to Harry Kane – probably Tottenham’s best player this season.
.png?w=600)
