Tim Sherwood may have already been proven wrong about one of Tottenham's January deadline day arrivals, after his return from injury against Everton.
Spurs beat the Toffees 5-0 on Monday night and Rodrigo Bentancur returned to Antonio Conte's starting XI, after an injury ruled him out of the matchday squad in the two previous fixtures.
The Uruguayan played the full 90 minutes, alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and showed the impact and composure he can have on the pitch, which seemed to be missing when the Dane was playing alongside Harry Winks.
Bentancur has already faced a pause in his short time in N17, due to an injury he picked up in the 1-0 defeat to Burnley, but his return was a welcome one and he has already made five Premier League appearances.
In Monday's tie at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the 24-year-old had 91.7 per cent passing accuracy, made three clearances and produced a trio of long balls.
The Uruguayan has already shown he isn't afraid to be brave with his tackles, which some Spurs players fail to do on a regular basis and he also adds composure in the middle of the field.
Being at the club less than two months, the midfielder isn't the finished article and is likely to still be settling in to life in the capital and playing in a new league, but it has been a good start.
However the former Lilywhites manager was quick to judge him on Saturday.
"What they do is buy Bentancur who gives the ball away more than he keeps it, and when he keeps it, he goes square and backwards," Sherwood said on Sky Sports, via HITC.
This sideways and backwards passing has been a criticism of a number of Tottenham players in recent times, most notably Winks, but in his short spell at Spurs so far, Betancur has already shown he is more of a positive and forward thinking player.
The difference in the midfield two against Middlesbrough compared to Everton, already hints at the impact the Uruguayan international could have.
The 26-year-old has already earned praise from Conte, who he says was one of the contributing factors for his move.
"The fact that Antonio Conte was here was a massive factor in helping me make up my decision to join Tottenham, and a big motivation," Bentancur told Sky Sports, in an interview last month.
"I feel that he can dramatically improve me as a player and I'm looking forward to learning from him big time."
The 52-year-old has already shown the influence he can have on his new side, with a number of players already showing improvement during his short time in north London.
Bentancur has already admitted he will need time to adapt to his new life in the capital.
"I think it's going to take time to settle in because the Italian and English leagues are quite different, especially when you come to think about the intensity and the speed of the game in this country compared to Italy," the midfielder admitted.
"This settling in period will take a bit of work. It's something I'm currently working really hard on and I'm hoping to get used to English football in as short a time as possible."
However the 26-year-old has only been in England for a month and a half and already shown glimpses of the quality he can bring to Conte's side.
Bentancur could become a key player in Tottenham's regular XI, despite only playing a handful of games so far.
It could be because the creativity in the middle of the field has struggled so much this season, but the 26-year-old already looks like he could be the spark Spurs need to help improve performances.
He has already made a number of crunching tackles and once Oliver Skipp returns from his injury, a partnership could develop with the duo, or Conte may look to keep Hojbjerg in the mix and adapt into a midfield three.
Either way, it has been a positive start and could be signs of a promising future ahead.
