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Rewind the clock back a few years and David Bentley had the world at his feet. The midfielder was the jewel the Blackburn Rovers crown and was reportedly being followed by almost every club in the Premier League, hell the man was even being touted as the new David Beckham. So how on earth does the man with one of the brightest futures in English football end up struggling for a place on the Tottenham Hotspur bench?

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is no stranger to wasting a large sum of money on a player yet the £15 million purchase of Bentley has to rival even some of the Premier League’s most spectacular flops. The winger was one of the many who suffered under the guidance of Juande Ramos and it appears that the former Rovers man has never really recovered from his slow start.

Poor form is one thing, it happens to even the best of players however; it has been Bentley’s attitude that has really made me lose respect for the midfielder. Bentley is like an unemployed man who knows that he should be doing his utmost to try and get a new job but just can’t find the motivation. The winger appears to be content with warming the bench at White Hart Lane and whereas most players would be tearing their hair out in frustration, Bentley shows little sign of wanting to move on.

This lack of application and determination has given Bentley a problem. In his early days with the Lilywhites, had the north London club wanted to offload the midfielder then there would have been no shortage of interested parties, yet who now wants to part with up to £10 million for a player who hasn’t held down a first team place in two years?

Although it may seem like an odd option for a player of his profile, a loan move could be the way forward for the forgotten England man. Bentley needs to prove not only to potential buyers but also to himself that he is still worth all the fuss and the only way he would be able to do this is through a loan move. He could return to a mid-table Premier League side and get some much needed first team football. The wingers natural ability cannot be doubted and he has shown (albeit only on the odd occasion) this at Spurs. His 40 yard strike against bitter north London rivals Arsenal was a touch of genius and his free kick in the 9-1 drubbing of Wigan Athletic was also out of the top drawer. If you couple this with the fact that he became the first ever player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick against Manchester United then it becomes even more puzzling as to why he sits on the bench week in week out.

Bentley may not be the most popular of footballers, but for the sake of his career he should consider a move away from White Hart Lane, even if it is only temporary. The midfielder is too gifted to sit on the bench every week and if he rejuvenates himself with a move away, both he and Tottenham could prosper.

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