Poyet: Uruguay captaincy will elevate Bentancur at Spurs

Gus Poyet believes Rodrigo Bentancur's spell as Uruguay captain during the international break will push the midfielder to a new level at Tottenham Hotspur.

Bentancur, capped 80 times by Uruguay, was handed the armband by new head coach Diego Forlan in the absence of Federico Valverde for friendlies against Japan and South Korea. He also featured in Uruguay's 6-1 win in India, where Jose Gimenez captained the side, playing in all three matches across the break.

"Captaining Uruguay is the most important part," said Poyet, himself capped 26 times by Uruguay and a League Cup winner as assistant to Juande Ramos at Spurs in 2008. "There are not many midfielders who can do a little bit of everything — run with the ball, pass well, tackling, getting upset, caring."

Poyet pointed to the visible impact of the responsibility on Bentancur. "I saw a few of his team talks before the games, and he's showing that experience. For sure, this captaincy role in Uruguay will catapult him to another level here with Tottenham."

Bentancur joined Spurs from Juventus in the second half of 2021/22 alongside Dejan Kulusevski. Serious injuries disrupted his 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns, before he played a key role in Tottenham's UEFA Europa League success in 2024/25. Last season further injury kept him out from January to April, but he returned to start all six of the club's final matches under Roberto De Zerbi.

Poyet also noted the competitive midfield environment Bentancur faces, with Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali, Conor Gallagher, Lucas Bergvall, and Archie Gray all vying for places. "The worst thing you can do in football nowadays is to give someone the possibility of thinking, 'I will play, even if I'm in a bad time'. They need to be always at the top — and he has very good competition."

Despite that competition, Bentancur has been among Tottenham's standout performers so far this season, including a notable display in a goalless draw at Nottingham Forest in early September.