da bet sport： Central midfield is an area where the top teams have influential players, with Tottenham needing to fully decide on their first-choice pairing if they are to establish themselves as a top-four club.
da bwin： Mauricio Pochettino has favoured the energy of youth-team graduates Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb for the majority of the campaign, but the Argentine has other options at his disposal.
Alongside fringe figures Paulinho and Etienne Capoue, another midfielder with the potential to be a star in the Premier League is present in the Spurs ranks.
Benjamin Stambouli joined the North London club from Montpellier last summer and arrived in England with a burgeoning reputation.
Having featured in the same team as now-Premier League stars Olivier Giroud and Remy Cabella, Stambouli was widely acknowledged as one of the most impressive midfielders in Ligue 1.
Confident and comfortable in possession, the Frenchman’s influence over proceedings in his homeland had plenty of teams considering an approach, with transfer rumours linking him to a host of European clubs.
With a tireless work-rate and tenacity in the tackle to boot, Stambouli looked like a shrewd acquisition for Spurs and a player that had the attributes to be an assertive box-to-box midfielder for Pochettino and his men.
However, since his move, Stambouli has only been afforded four Premier League starts, with his last inclusion in Pochettino’s XI at the first whistle coming back in January.
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Unlike Paulinho and Capoue this season, who have been fairly disappointing when afforded an opportunity to play, the signs have been there that Stambouli can fit into Spurs’ system.
Against the likes of Crystal Palace and Sunderland back in January, Stambouli got himself out of tight situations with clever footwork and displayed coolness in possession that Spurs have been lacking at times this season.
He is clearly still getting to grips with the step up that moving from Ligue 1 to the Premier League represents, while a lack of consistent action will slow this process significantly.
With Spurs looking increasingly likely to be caught in the Europa League trap again next season, the number of games that the North Londoners play in 2015-16 is likely to be similar to this action-packed campaign.
As such, Pochettino will need a considerable squad with plenty of back-up options if the club is to finally reach their holy grail of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League.
Bentaleb continues to be a driving force in midfield, with his no-nonsense approach making him an important player in Pochettino’s side.
Mason meanwhile has suffered a dip in form in recent months, with the Tottenham manager giving the likes of Pualinho a chance to play.
Mousa Dembele has also been deployed in central midfield on occasion, but seems better suited to an advanced role.
As such, a starting berth is there for Stambouli to claim if he can get into the team and show the White Hart Lane faithful what he is capable of.
Writing him off as a flop would be a mistake, as the Frenchman can only improve as he settles into life in North London.
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