Rodrigo Bentancur, the NxGn maestro dubbed the Uruguayan Pogba
The gifted midfielder has continued to develop since joining Juventus from Argentinian giants Boca Juniors last year
Uruguay have not been able to call upon many elegant, graceful central midfield players during their resurgence over the last decade or so.
But in Rodrigo Bentancur, a player who has already drawn comparisons with the likes of Paul Pogba, the trend of Diego Perez's and Egidio Arévalo Rios’s - both fine destroyers - has been well and truly bucked.
Bentancur started his career with Argentinian giants Boca Juniors, making his debut for Guillermo Barros Schelotto's side in April 2015. It didn't take the gifted starlet long to impress at La Bombonera, quickly establishing himself as a regular under Schelotto as Boca ended a barren run of three years without a trophy by winning both the Primera Division title and the Copa Argentina.
His accomplished performances did not go unnoticed. Juventus, one of the most efficient 'superclubs' in the transfer market, cannily secured first refusal on Bentancur as part of the deal that saw Carlos Tevez return to his native country in the summer of 2015.
The Bianconeri saw fit to exercise their option to bring Bentancur to Turin in April 2017. He ended his time with Boca with another Primera Division title before joining up with Massimiliano Allegri's men in the summer.
While he didn't quite manage to immediately nail down a starting spot with the Italian champions, the 20-year-old did establish himself as a worthwhile member of the squad. Bentancur featured in 26 matches in all competitions for Juve, nine of which from the start.
A towering, physical figure in midfield but more than comfortable with the ball at his feet, Bentancur averaged a 91 per cent pass completion rate in his five Champions League appearances for Allegri's side.
He also managed to win eight duels per game in Serie A, more than any other Juventus player.
The stand-out performance of his first campaign in Europe's premier club competition came against Greek champions Olympiakos; Bentancur put in an all-action display which included four interceptions, four clearances, three tackles and a passing accuracy of 93%.
Uruguay are certainly hoping their prized jewel will perform to a similar level in Russia as they look to improve on their somewhat flat performance in the World Cup in Brazil four years ago.
Their group doesn't seem to be the hardest to qualify from, and Bentancur's passing range and occasional tendency to maraud through an opposing defensive block will certainly come in handy against the likes of Russia and Saudi Arabia, who will presumably look to contain rather than attack.
The responsibility of being his country's quarterback in his first World Cup despite having only made a handful of appearances for Oscar Tabarez's men in the build-up to Russia may prove too much to handle for a player who does not turn 21 until midway through the competition.
But for a precocious talent such as Bentancur, there may be no better stage to truly justify the attention that has surrounded him since he burst onto the scene at Boca and in turn propel himself to superstardom.
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wonder what do you need to become Pogba 2.0 these days
