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Nabil Bentaleb could return to Tottenham
Schalke may not purchase Nabil Bentaleb on a permanent basis
When Nabil Bentaleb’s loan move to Schalke was announced this summer, most Tottenham fans assume he’d played his last match for Spurs. Now, after six games with his new Bundesliga club, it’s quite possible he’ll end up back in North London.
Unfortunately from the Tottenham perspective, it’s not because Bentaleb is playing so well that the club want him back. Instead, it’s a product of his exceedingly poor form. The Algerian midfielder has only managed to muster a Whoscored.com player rating of 6.41 during his time in Germany.
It’s safe to say that the German media has taken note of Bentaleb’s failings as well. Recently, Bild named him as one of nine Schalke players who they considered as “slackers.” The obvious insinuation is that Bentaleb isn’t putting in the work required to excel.
His struggles won’t come as a shock to Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino. He clearly ostracized Bentaleb from the squad due to an issue with his attitude and/or work rate. The move didn’t make many Spurs fans happy at the time, but the Argentine manager has clearly been proven right thus far.
The frustrating thing is that he’s clearly a very talented player. He excelled for Spurs in the Premier League at the tender age of 19 under former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood. His string of excellent play continued during Pochettino’s first season in charge as well.
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The following summer something negative happened. Perhaps Bentaleb got too comfortable with his place in the squad and was under the incorrect impression that he’d “made it” in English football. Maybe he lost his work ethic after receiving a substantial pay raise. No matter what the explanation, his play has clearly declined since.
Now Tottenham may be forced to deal with him again. The original plan was for him to head to Schalke on loan, and then for the Bundesliga club to activate a clause in the deal to purchase him on a permanent basis. His poor play will certainly cause Schalke to rethink making him a long-term part of their club.
As a result, Nabil Bentaleb may find himself a Tottenham player once again after this season ends. Of course, that just means Spurs will have to find him a different destination than Schalke.
This article originally appeared on 
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