Can David Bentley Replace Robbie Keane at Spurs

So the ink is dry and Robbie Keane has left Tottenham Hotspur and moved to Liverpool after all, in a deal that's worth between $35-40 million. While this could be excellent news for the Reds—imagine Keane feeding off Fernando Torres and vice versa—where does it leave Spurs?

According to the media, the answer could lie in Blackburn's David Bentley. While there's no doubting the talent that Bentley unbdoubtedly possesses—even being compared to the great Dennis Bergkamp during his fledgling Arsenal career—there are doubts whether he can fill the role that Keane did so well.

Admittedly, the two players are different-while Robbie Keane is a more traditional striker that can play through the middle, David Bentley is more of a winger that can play as a forward. This perhaps explains why the goal-scoring stats of the two players differ for last season:

• Robbie Keane: 15 goals from 36 Premier League games.
• David Bentley: 6 goals from 37 appearances.

It may be argued that Bentley assists more and that is why his goal tally is considerably less than Keane's. However, with ongoing reports that Dimitar Berbatov is headed toward Old Trafford and Darren Bent not really producing the goods, is Bentley really the player that Spurs currently need?

Instead of a "flair player" that can provide strikers their firepower, Spurs would be better suited going after a recognized striker or two. Allegedly they are in talks with Spartak Moscow for Roman Pavlyuchenko as well as Diego Milito from Real Zaragoza.

While these players may be the answers to Keane and Berbatov, the question of whether David Bentley can step into an already talent-heavy midfield remains.

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