Tottenham Hotspur have offloaded midfield misfit Nabil Bentaleb by sanctioning a season-long loan to Schalke 04.
CONFIRMED: Nabil Bentaleb has joined Bundesliga side FC Schalke 04 on loan until the end of the 2016-17 season. pic.twitter.com/pMToB2KQ65
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 25, 2016
Bentaleb was a firm favourite under Mauricio Pochettino in the early days of the Argentine manager’s reign at White Hart Lane. The 21-year-old Algeria international started 25 Premier League games during Pochettino’s first season as Spurs boss, but he only made two league starts last term as he fell below Eric Dier, Mousa Dembele, Ryan Mason and Tom Carroll in the pecking order.
Despite his fall from grace at White Hart Lane, Bentaleb is still highly regarded in the wider world of football.
He remains a valuable asset and talkSPORT claim that Spurs could receive a £17m transfer fee if Schalke decide to sign the player on a permanent basis at any point during his loan.
It’s been a busy day for Tottenham transfer news, with the London Evening Standard reporting that Spurs have agreed to sign Espanyol goalkeeper Pau Lopez on loan until the end of the season.
Standard Sport state that Spurs will pay Espanyol £500,000 up front and then a further £6m should they opt to sign Pau at the end of his loan spell.