£40m move, transfer option, wildcard pick: How Postecoglou can fix Tottenham's Bentancur problem

Tottenham Hotspur seem set to be without midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur for a lengthy spell and Ange Postecoglou will be looking for solutions to the Uruguayan's absence.

The 27-year-old currently has the threat of a lengthy ban hanging over his head after being charged in September by the FA over his comments regarding Tottenham captain Son Heung-min in a controversial interview. After speaking to the FA at the time, football.london reported that match-based sanctions of six to 12 games are recommended to regulatory commissions for almost all 'aggravated breaches' of the FA Rule E3 that Bentancur was charged under, when they are a first offence.

Accordingly, reports this week have suggested that the Uruguayan is set to be handed a seven-game ban from domestic matches. If that proves to be the case then Bentancur will be missing games all the way up to and including the Premier League game against Liverpool on December 22 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

There's another potential issue on the horizon as while Bentancur scored his first goal of the season on Sunday against Ipswich, he also picked up a yellow card in the 78th minute for an angry moment of displeasure towards the referee after being penalised for a foul. That was his fourth yellow card of the Premier League season, and means he is now one booking away from picking up a one-game suspension to add to whatever comes from the independent commission's decision over his charge.

So how does Postecoglou deal with the lengthy potential absence of a player who has been in fine form in recent weeks and looks back to his pre-cruciate ligament injury levels?

Here are five potential options for the Spurs boss to attempt to absorb the blow:

Rely on Bissouma and hope for no injuries

One option is to do nothing. The potential ban is likely to apply only to domestic games, which means - if it is confirmed during this international break - that Bentancur will be available for the midweek European games against Claudio Ranieri's Roma later this month and then at Rangers in mid-December.

That covers two of the midweek games but leaves two others - the league game at Bournemouth and Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United - potentially requiring Yves Bissouma to play a lot of football in the No.6 role alongside the weekend games.

That's also very dependent on Bissouma remaining fit and not picking up any injuries during this period. It's a risky strategy that will place a lot of pressure on the Mali international.

Archie Gray's time

Archie Gray has got plenty of praise from Postecoglou this season but the £40million teenager has been utilised either as a right-back or left-back by the Australian and even a couple of times as a centre-back.

The 18-year-old's natural position is in the midfield and he starred there at times for Leeds last season, not least during an eye-catching, all-action display against Chelsea in a FA Cup fifth round clash at Stamford Bridge.

Gray is seen as the future of Tottenham's midfield, but perhaps this is the opportunity to be its present.

Versatile Sarr

Pape Matar Sarr, like Gray, is as versatile as they come. The 22-year-old has been selected mainly a No.8 while at Tottenham, but at Metz he played in not only that role, but also as an attacking midfielder, a winger occasionally and also spent a number of games as a defensive midfielder.

Postecoglou trusts Sarr and has used him a lot since arriving at the club. He may well call upon the young Senegal international's tactical intelligence and versatility in a No.6 role, switching in for Bissouma when the fixtures pile up.

Either way, Sarr is going to get plenty of minutes over the next couple of months if he can steer clear of injury.

The Cardoso call

Some Tottenham fans have wondered about accelerating any potential plans to sign USA international defensive midfielder Johnny Cardoso from Real Betis.

When Spurs sold Giovani Lo Celso to the La Liga side in the summer window, they agreed an option to buy the now 23-year-old Cardoso as part of the package, for a fee reported to be £21million. Reports suggest that can only be triggered next summer during a two-week window and if it expires then Tottenham will instead have a sell-on percentage if Cardoso is sold elsewhere.

"Johnny is a player who is of interest not only to Tottenham, but to many other teams, who has great potential and in this case, within the Gio operation, they asked us for an option to buy for a value that was important and interesting for us and we did give them that option," said Betis president Angel Haro in September.

Technically there's two issues here. Firstly, the option appears to kick in next summer, which would mean any January move would not be covered and therefore be more costly. Secondly, Bentancur's potential ban - if it is seven matches and begins soon - will be over by the time the winter window opens. So if Spurs did decide to move for Cardoso at any point, it would be a separate situation.

The Romero wildcard

Here's a wildcard one for you. Centre-back Cristian Romero has not hit the levels he reached for much of last season so far during this current campaign. There could be a case for playing Radu Dragusin alongside Micky van de Ven in the centre of defence when he returns from injury and perhaps giving the Argentine World Cup winner a brand new role in midfield.

The 26-year-old is comfortable sitting on the halfway line, strong in the challenge and uses the ball well. He has not played in the midfield for Tottenham before but could he prove to be a useful option on occasions?

Admittedly this is unlikely to be an option Postecoglou puts high up his list as he wants Romero and his aggression in the backline, but we thought it was something to chew over.

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