Exclusive – David Bentley looking to impress on return to Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur star David Bentley is looking to make an impact at the club on his return from a loan spell in Russia.

The winger, once heralded as the natural successor to David Beckham, moved to Spurs in 2008 for around £15million but failed to live up to his price tag with injuries blighting his career and managers playing him out of position.

In a bid to regain fitness and form Bentley moved to FC Rostov for three months and will return in January hoping to impress manager Andre Villas-Boas with his contract due to run out at the end of the current campaign.

“[Villas-Boas] is a very good coach,” he told talkSPORT. He’s got new ideas. He was very good with me but after spending a year out [injured] and then having players in front of you, you fall down the pecking order so you have to go away and get fit again.

“It’s been a difficult four years but that’s life and football. I’ll move on.

“I came here for three months. It was only 13 games to get back in to the swing of things. I’m contracted to Tottenham until the end of the season. So I’ll go back and see what happens from there.”