Algeria

‪Nabil Bentaleb‬
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 07/14

Personal information
Full name
Nabil Bentaleb
Date of birth
24 November 1994
Place of birth
Lille, France
Height
1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position
Midfielder

Club information
Current club:
Tottenham Hotspur
Number
42

Youth career

AJS Wazemmes: 
2001-2004
Lille: 
2004-2009
Mouscron: 
2009
Dunkerque: 
2010-2012
Tottenham Hotspur: 
2012-2013

Senior career*

Tottenham Hotspur
13x apps / 0x goals

National team:

France U19: 2012
1x apps / 0x goals

Algeria: 2014-
3x apps / 1x goals

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for 
the domestic league only and correct as of 21:27, 24 March 2014 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12:28, 14 March 2014 (UTC)

Nabil Bentaleb (born 24 November 1994) is an Algerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Tottenham Hotspur and the Algeria national team.

Early career - Club career
Born in Lille, Bentaleb started his career at the academy of local side, Lille. However he was released from the academy at the age of 15 and then went to Belgium to play for Mouscron. Bentaleb then went on trial with Birmingham City before eventually signing into the academy of Tottenham Hotspur in January 2012. 

During the 2012-13 season Bentaleb broke into the under-21 side at Tottenham and scored four goals in fourteen matches, including a winning goal against Arsenal's Academy. His performance that season earned him a new four-year contract at Tottenham Hotspur until 2018.

Tottenham Hotspur
On 22 December 2013, Bentaleb was selected into the 18-man first-team squad for Tottenham Hotspur in a Premier League match against Southampton. He made his professional debut in that match when he came on as a sub in the 50th minute for Mousa Dembélé, Tottenham won the match 3:2. 

His first start for Spurs came in the North London derby against Arsenal in the FA Cup on 4 January. He then went on to start against Crystal Palace, where he hit the post and won the man of the match award, and Swansea, where he produced another outstanding display. On February 20, 2014 he started in the Europa League match against Dnipro.

International career
On 14 November 2012, Bentaleb made his debut for France U19 in a friendly match, coming on as a half time substitute in a 3:0 loss to Germany U19. Despite having represented France, he has been courted by the Algerian Football Federation, and some sources said he already accepted. 

In January 2014, Tottenham Hotspur manager Tim Sherwood suggested that the English Football Association were also interested. However, Bentaleb would not meet the requirements to play for England under the unique rules set out in the Home Nations agreement. 

The Home Nations agreement requires that players engage in a minimum of five years of education before the age of 18 within the territory of the relevant association and do not offer national team eligibility through residency.
 
On 15 February 2014, Bentaleb pledged his international future to Algeria. A few days later, he was called up by Algeria coach Vahid Halilhodžić for a friendly match against Slovenia. 

He made his debut on 5 March, playing the full game in a 2:0 win over Slovenia. He scored his first goal for his country against Romania on 4 June 2014 via a tap in.