Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood, who gave the midfielder his first-team debut, explains why the Algeria international is destined for the top

WHICH AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS STAR WILL BE MISSED MOST?

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By Greg Stobart"He trains like every day is the last day of his life, he cries his eyes out when he loses a five-a-side match. He would die for the club."Algeria's national team are also known as the Desert Warriors and as they prepare for the Africa Cup of Nations, they boast a player who has embodied that fighting spirit ever since he broke into the Tottenham first-team just over a year ago.When Nabil Bentaleb was first introduced by Tim Sherwood as a second-half substitute against Southampton last December, even Tottenham supporters asked who this kid was. He had come from nowhere.Now they will worry that Spurs will miss Bentaleb during the AFCON this month even more than Premier League champions Manchester City will yearn for Yaya Toure's return to the Etihad Stadium.So will Mauricio Pochettino when the Tottenham manager analyses the importance of the 20-year-old to his team.Bentaleb has an outstanding record this season, with Spurs winning 64 per cent of their Premier League matches with the midfielder in the side compared to just 33% without him. Of all the Premier League stars going to the AFCON, only Toure, with joint-leaders City, has a better record.And when Bentaleb doesn't play, Tottenham are twice as likely to lose this term, with his intelligence, comfort on the ball and progressive forward passing badly missed.But most of all, according to the man who gave Bentaleb his Tottenham debut, the Londoners will miss his attitude.Sherwood, who spent six months as Tottenham manager last season having previously been technical co-ordinator in charge of the youth team, knows Bentaleb as well as anyone and believes he is destined for the top."He came at 15 years of age after he was released by a few clubs in France so it's not like he was always going to be great, he had to work at it," Sherwood tells"Not only does he have the technical ability but he has the attitude and well. He showed everyone else how to train – his mentality was top class."He trains like every day is the last day of his life. He cries his eyes out when he loses a five-a-side match. He would die for the club."That attitude is why he is a future Tottenham captain and there are no doubts he will have a successful career."Even when he's not playing so well, you know he will give everything and be brave. He won't hide, he will get about the pitch, he will demand the ball."He works so hard on his game, he's a very intelligent player and wants to get on the ball. He can do a bit of everything."I tended to use him in a more defensive role, mainly because I knew I could trust him to do what I asked."But in his development at Spurs, he has always been a box-to-box midfielder and he has always scored goals in the junior age groups."He's not the finished article yet but he can develop into more of a goalscoring midfielder."Spurs will fancy their chances of picking up maximum points even without Bentaleb as they face Crystal Palace, West Brom and Sunderland in January, but his absence was immediately felt in Monday night's 1-1 draw with Burnley in the FA Cup third round.The central midfield pairing of Mousa Dembele and Paulinho were ponderous on and off the ball, with Tottenham missing the energy and positive passing that helped them to a sensational 5-3 victory over Chelsea in their last league outing.Bentaleb makes more recoveries per 90 minutes than any other player in the Spurs squad (7.32), his passing accuracy is the third best in the team (86.46%) while only Etienne Capoue - a very different style of player - has a greater number of average passes and touches.The French-born midfielder gave a nod towards his leadership qualities in an interview after that New Year's Day victory over Chelsea when he revealed that he gave a pep talk to his team-mates before kick-off."Before the game I spoke to the guys and we said that we would leave everything on the pitch," Bentaleb said. "We were playing against the top team in the league and we know how good they are."He was one of five former academy players to start in that match and while Harry Kane's brilliant form has been attracting most of the attention, Sherwood believes Bentaleb should be equally popular among Spurs fans."Tottenham fans have to love him as much as they love Harry Kane," Sherwood says. "He will give everything for the cause."I have been linked with a lot of clubs and if I could take anyone it would be Bentaleb or Harry Kane. But they wouldn't sell either of them now!"When I first looked to that bench against Southampton, I had no hesitation because I knew him and his qualities, I was absolutely certain I could trust him."If anyone was going to give him that chance it would be me – and I'm glad I did it."Bentaleb's emergence as first-choice midfielder this season alongside another youth product in Ryan Mason has raised new questions over Tottenham's recent transfer policy in which they have spent big money on midfielders such as Paulinho, Capoue, Dembele and Benjamin Stambouli."I really like the way Pochettino judges on what he sees too, not on reputations or transfer fees," Sherwood adds."I understand why managers don't play kids but you have to have the character to put your neck on the block. I did that too and I'm so happy to see players like Bentaleb becoming regulars because they deserve it - and they need it for their development."The emergence of youth team players into the first-time will likely be Sherwood's legacy from his time at Tottenham.Spurs fans used to joke that Bentaleb was his teacher's pet. But even without Sherwood the star pupil is now becoming Tottenham's warrior.