A note of caution regarding Winks. The current Spurs midfield is the Kingdom of the Blind. Oliver Skipp has walked into the Spurs midfield and is without doubt the best midfield player on Spurs books. That tells you something.
The real story here is that Lo Celso, Ndombele, and Winks have been collectively and consistently so unfit for purpose, over a sustained 3-year period, that Spurs performances and results have suffered massively.
There has been a limited supply to the forward players and the defenders have often been left exposed. Poch, Jose, Nuno, and now Conte have tried different tactics and operated a revolving cast in midfield, but the same recurring problems are evident; especially when Spurs come up against a decent team.
When Winks plays for Spurs, against an elite team, it is a bit like watching the football equivalent of a giant placing the palm of his hand against a midget’s forehead; whilst the midget swings punches that never land.
Spurs played Morecambe yesterday. A-League One side. When Wink’s has done well, it has typically been against inferior opposition in the Europa League or domestic cups. The Winks ‘renaissance’ is one of the more unfortunate consequences of Spurs’ improvement, in terms of performance and results, under Antonio Conte.
Harry Winks is not the answer. Those who think he might need to ask themselves what the question is. Winks has scored 2 goals and contributed 2 assists in 116 Premier League appearances.
His statistics on winning 1v1 duels make dismal reading. Winks does not win the majority of his tackles. This is a player who does not score, create or stop goals. I have been baffled about what Winks is bringing to the party from early on. Without wishing to be unkind; it’s not enough. Spurs is as good as it gets for Winks. He knows it.
He knows that a significant minority of Spurs supporters also know it. He is embracing the reprieve that has come his way due to the utter uselessness of both Ndombele and Lo Celso. Conte will Tolerate Winks for a while; but not for long. Hojbjerg and Skipp are the only current midfield survivors of this disaster.