Nabil Bentaleb has been on the Schalke roller-coaster since leaving Tottenham Hotspur in the last summer transfer window. Mauricio Pochettino didn’t see Bentaleb as part of his Tottenham future, and the purchases of Victor Wanyama and Moussa Sissoko in the summer gave Spurs even more options in midfield.
Schalke had a terrible start to the season and the German media were loathe to blame the much hyped pair of manager Markus Weinzierl and sporting director Christian Heidel, with the blame instead being firmly put on the players.
The then Tottenham owned player continued to keep his head down and try. Many others would have been on the telephone to Pochettino pleading to be rescued, but Bentaleb fought and has easily been one of Schalke’s best players.
Hence them, in February, triggering the €19m buying clause.
The Tottenham transfer impressed some so much that, in March, German football legend Lothar Matthaus said of the Spurs reject:“He often reminds me of Zidane, who, like Bentaleb, has Algerian roots. Of course, the comparison is too high, but technically Bentaleb is in a class of his own.”
Matthaus recommended him to Bayern Munich for this summer.
Then a few less than stellar performances and Bentaleb criticism was in the German media again. This week Bild even suggest the transfer from Tottenham could be one of the flops of Schalke’s season.
With the player described as good but sometimes inconsistent, and sometimes rash, it’s easy to believe Bild have completely forgotten he only turned 22 years of age in November and this is his first season in German football.
But the German media have to continue to deflect blame from Weinzierl and Heidel.
