In his first interview as a Tottenham Hotspur player, Rodrigo Bentancur expressed his delight at joining the North London club and admitted it will be an honour to don the famous Lilywhite shirt.
Bentancur completed a deadline day move to Spurs along with his former Juventus teammate Dejan Kulusevski.
In the four and a half years he spent at the Allianz Stadium, the midfielder won three Scudettos, playing a particularly important part in the Old Lady’s march to the title in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 campaigns.
The Uruguay international admitted he was delighted to hear about Tottenham’s interest in him and he is excited about testing himself in the Premier League.
Betancourt told the club’s official website: “It’s a great club with great players – always competing in all competitions. I was very happy when I heard about the interest in me and thankfully I’ve joined now.
“It’s a huge pleasure and an honour to be able to represent this shirt. As I said, it’s a brilliant club and a great league that I’ve always liked and now I’m going to have the chance to enjoy it alongside the other great players that we have.
“I think they’ll help me to grow a lot on a footballing level, and obviously we’ll always try to give everything we can to represent the club together.”
Betancur also spoke about the characteristics he possesses and the qualities he hopes to bring to the Spurs midfield.
He added: “I would say I’m a very tactical player who covers free spaces, does well when winning the ball back and moves it forward quickly. I also think I have scope to improve even more and I can do so as part of this team at Spurs.”
The midfielder also expressed his excitement at linking up with Antonio Conte, admitting that the opportunity to work with the Italian was a big draw for him.
When asked about the former Inter boss, he said: “I am looking forward to learning from Antonio Conte – I think he’s a great coach, he wants to win and gets 150 per cent out of his players.
“I think he’ll make me improve even more, both mentally and as a player. I like that, and it’s a big motivation for me.”
Spurs Web Opinion
The one thing that stands out above all from Bentancur’s and Kulusevski’s first interviews, is the fact that both players stress their keenness to contribute to the team rather than discussing their personal ambitions. That is perhaps why Conte wanted to bring the pair in and offload the likes of Ndombele, Dele and Lo Celso.
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