Career
Early career
Born in Lille to Algerian parents, 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 2012-2013 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.
Bentaleb scored his first goal for the club on 17 December 2014 in the fifth round of the Football League Cup against Newcastle United. On 1 March 2015, Bentaleb started for Tottenham in the 2015 Football League Cup Final, a match they lost 2–0 to Chelsea.
On 6 July 2015, Bentaleb signed a new five-year contract, which runs until 2020.
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 scored his first goal for his country against Romania on 4 June 2014 at the Stade de Genève in Switzerland.
He started in midfield for the team"s opening match of the tournament – a 2–1 defeat by Belgium in Belo Horizonte on 17 June.
He also played the full ninety minutes for Les Fennecs in their two other Group H matches. A 4–2 defeat of South of Korea and a 1–1 draw with Russia. However, he was an unused substitute during the team"s 2–1 defeat to Germany in the round of 16.
On 15 December 2014, Bentaleb was named in Algeria"s 23-man squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.