The Spurs manager believes the form of his teenage midfielder could lead to an ‘arm-wrestle’ between England and France over who he should play for, with Algeria also in the running

The Tottenham manager, Tim Sherwood, believes Nabil Bentaleb could be the subject of a potential “arm-wrestle” between England and France over his international eligibility, while Algeria are expected to try to call up the young midfielder later this month.

Bentaleb, 19, has featured regularly in the Spurs starting XI under Sherwood this year and his presence has coincided with a series of impressive team performances, most recently the 3-1 victory over Swansea City on Sunday.

Having previously slipped under the radar after being released by Lille and Mouscron before failing to agree terms with Birmingham City following a trial, the young midfielder signed for Tottenham in January 2012 and made his debut during the 3-2 win at Southampton in December.

Such has been Bentaleb’s impressive form that the Football Association has shown an interest in selecting him for England in the future. Having already lived in the country for two years, he would be eligible for England duty in 2017, if he does not play for another international side before then.

Bentaleb was born in Lille to Algerian parents and represented France Under-19s in November 2012 but following Tottenham’s win at Swansea Sherwood said he was unsure how closely Les Bleus had been monitoring the player’s development.

“If he carries on the way he is at the moment he’ll be knocking at the door for the French squad at the World Cup,” said Sherwood. “He’s got to make a decision and I’m not sure how much love the French are showing him now.

“He’s been in the wilderness but now he’s not and everyone is starting to know about him. He’s performing regularly and if the English are serious about it, it probably could be an arm-wrestle between them and the French. I’m not saying they didn’t treat him well, it’s that he’s been in the wilderness because he hasn’t played. To scout him they’d have had to come to watch our under-21s. I maintain that [good] players are out there, whether they’re French, English, Scottish, whatever; people just have to look harder and they have to trust them.”

Asked to put himself in a current England midfielder’s shoes and imagine how it would feel to be overlooked for a naturalised player, Sherwood added: “I wouldn’t be happy. It’s only in the last few weeks that I’ve heard him speak French for the first time. I called him on it because I had thought he was from Harlow or somewhere!”

Bentaleb has also caught the eye of Algeria and is likely to be called into their preliminary squad on 31 January for a friendly against Slovenia on 5 March. The Algeria manager, Vahid Halilhodzic, is expected to select Bentaleb unless he informs officials from the country that he does not want to be considered.

The situation represents an intriguing choice for Bentaleb, who not long ago was struggling for a club and has now been catapulted into consideration by three international teams. Both Algeria and France will compete at the 2014 World Cup and should the player accept any call from the north African side, he could find himself with an excellent chance of making their squad for Brazil. If the FA opts to pursue Bentaleb then it will once again open up the debate surrounding international eligibility of players considered for England duty, a topic that became a major talking point last year when it was revealed the organisation was considering Manchester United’s Adnan Januzaj as a potential player for the future.

In October Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere said “if you live in England for five years it doesn’t make you English” but Sherwood believes Bentaleb has the quality to succeed at the highest level after giving him a surprise opportunity in the first team.

When asked if he knew of the youngster’s quality before Tottenham brought in a number of expensive midfielders last summer, Sherwood, former head of youth development at Spurs, said: “I knew him more than anyone. It’s about having trust and knowing someone and really believing in them. If you’re coming in from the outside and you haven’t been brought up with these boys, then it’s difficult to have the trust over full international players who are coming in with big reputations.

“But I just felt ‘I know what the boy is capable of doing, I know the Premier League better than any of our players so I know what’s required, I know the demands.’ I knew he had the qualities to be able to do it.”

• Tim Sherwood
• Tottenham Hotspur

James Riach

theguardian.com