Levy refused to sell Bentaleb to Premier League clubs

Nabil Bentaleb has, by all accounts, started life in the Bundesliga very well. His agent was quoted as saying he wanted to remain in the Premier League but Tottenham didn't want to let him join a Premier League club.

There would have been plenty of complaints if he had gone to a rival team and done well and if there is no need to put yourself in that situation, why do it. Bentaleb left Tottenham because he wasn't getting the game time he thought he deserved and he has to look after his own career.

The upshot was that he asked Mauricio Pochettino to be allowed to leave the club, which was agreed to. Pochettino only wants players who want to be here and when a player feels the time is right to move you have to take a decision in the best interests of all parties.

Tottenham though put their foot down and said he could leave, but only abroad. We then had a bit of a stalemate as Premier League clubs made offers for him and he presumably hoped to force our hand. We stuck firm and he had to find a club abroad which ended up being Schalke 04.

A one-season loan deal with a £16.87-million (€20m - AUS$29.85m - US$22.46m) purchase option next summer is a good deal for a player who hardly featured last season.

Their manager, Christian Heidel, confirmed offers were rejected for the Algerian midfielder to Algerian news outlet Le Buteur.

"We are lucky to have brought in Bentaleb. There were been plenty of offers for him, and quite large sums proposed by Premier League clubs. 

"But we have been lucky because Daniel Levy, the chairman at Tottenham did not want to sell him in England to a rival club. In the end, we managed to obtain his arrival on loan."

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