During last summer’s transfer window, it appeared as though Morgan Schneiderlin was the player most desired by the then-new manager Mauricio Pochettino. His Southampton team had been anchored by Schneiderlin’s exemplary control in the central midfield, and rumours persisted that he wanted to insert the Frenchman into the heart of his new team.

Pochettino was, of course, left disappointed as the signing was never made, but fast forward six months and his role has been brilliantly filled in by a younger and possibly even more talented player – Nabil Bentaleb.

Just as the club’s lack of an on-form quality striker was solved from within through the introduction of Harry Kane, so it turned out that the answer to Pochettino’s concerns in central midfield already lay at his fingertips in the form of the young Algerian.

Like the Frenchman at Southampton, Bentaleb has the highest average number of passes played per match for his club

His composure on the ball and sound technique were already clear from his stint in the first team last season under Tim Sherwood, but back then he tended to exist only on the fringes of matches, passing the ball around neatly but never demanding it or taking control of games.

This season, however, he has developed into the kind of dominant central midfielder that Schneiderlin is at Southampton. Pochettino seems to be shaping him in his own image, and nurturing a sort of Schneiderlin 2.0.

Like the Frenchman at Southampton, Bentaleb has the highest average number of passes played per match for his club (58.6, the 13th highest in the league), all distributed with a calmness beyond his years.

But the real development in Bentaleb’s game has been his defensive contribution. His average number of tackles per game (2.3) may in fact be down from last season (2.6), but there has been a drastic increase in the number of interceptions he makes from 1.7 per game in 2013/14 to 2.7 per game this season.

That number is already the third highest in the league among midfielders (ahead of Schneiderlin’s 2.4), and has been even higher lately – since returning from the African Cup of Nations he’s averaged 3.29, and made a huge 6 in his commanding display against Swansea in his most recent game.

In Pochettino’s 4-2-3-1 systems, there are subtle differences in the roles of the two central midfield players. Both are expected to play with a high tempo and urgency, but one (Bentaleb) is generally required to sit deeper, while the other (Mason) makes more runs forward off the ball and attempts to make tackles higher up the pitch.

Still just 20 years of age, he could continue to the heart of our midfield for years to come

As such, it is important that Bentaleb retains a good defensive position, and sweeps up any loose balls – something that, as reflected in these interceptions stats, he is becoming increasingly good at. Spurs may be conceding a lot of goals at the moment, but the majority of these have resulted from individual errors from the back four rather than a lack of cover in front of them, while his cover also enables the full-backs to adopt advanced positions up the pitch, as has been a notable feature in recent games.

All these are attributes that Schneiderlin has been displaying in the Premiership over the past few years, but the signs are that Bentableb could become an even better player. Still just 20 years of age, he could continue to the heart of our midfield for years to come.