Few more underneath
Townsend had two months playing for Benitez at Newcastle and in only 10 games with the Spaniard scored three goals and provided two assists.
The player’s time at St James’ Park ushered in a period when – in his own view – he refined his game, adding industry and resilience to the flair and improvisation that captured the imagination when Townsend emerged as an influential figure for Tottenham.
“Rafa tried to get me to work off the ball, run in behind, come into the pockets, work back defensively.
“At Newcastle, he [Benitez] knew I could score from outside the box, he was trying to work on me running in behind without the ball and getting on the end of a pass to score goals, as opposed to doing it all myself.
“Hopefully, he can rediscover that goalscoring form I had at Newcastle and I can really start adding some numbers in both goalscoring and assists.”