Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has been arguably our standout signing of the summer even though his signing was less heralded than that of the likes of Gareth Bale and Matt Doherty.
Jose Mourinho is experienced enough to know exactly what he wants and that is what he showed when he completed the signing of Hojbjerg from Southampton to the surprise of many.
Even though not everyone was convinced by his signing, he will have won over most of his doubters with his performances this season.
The former Bayern Munich man has been an ever-present in the Tottenham team in the league and one player who has suffered because of his form is Harry Winks.
Winks has been reliable and loyal to the club for years, but the Englishman has found that holding down a first-team spot is a lot more competitive these days and for now, he is losing out.
He is not a bad player, neither has he become worst than he was, but he simply cannot displace any of the current midfield options right now.
Because of his lack of action, there have been talks of him leaving the club, but that doesn’t make much sense.
This is because every team that has won trophies has had depth. Winks has to be ready to fill in if Hojbjerg or our other midfielders get injured.
One way for him to get ready is to play matches, even if it is just cup games. We simply cannot wait for when he has to be relied on before he sees minutes, he might not be at the required rhythm.
While I don’t think that our current midfield set up, should be tampered with, I want us to do whatever we can to keep Winks ready to play without the team being affected as a whole.
If after these comments he has been judged correctly, then how the hell is Winks playing for England ?
Aye, you need a squad of quality players though. Not a squad of fairies or sub par players. A squad with depth is needed. If your second string are almost as good as your firsts then you are fine. Ideally the whole squad should be challenging for a starter. I’m hoping Winksy can keep getting better, but I feel he’s maxed out now. He’s at his peak.
I can see him going for 20 mil to the likes of brighton, fulham, Burnley.. Winks and Davies were making multiple mistakes in our loss to Antwerp. Not good enough for supposedly senior players.. I hoped Winks was going to evolve into a Pirlo style playmaker. It’s not happening is it… Ryan Mason was much better, rather than sideways and backwards the lad drove forward with the ball,. Winks is Tom Carroll in disguise. Another typical spurs acadamy graduate.. Best off selling 2 or 3 of these guys and spending the 60 or 70 mil odd on a quality player.
Everything that typifies the old Spurs – the original “steady Eddie”
You cannot win anything with eleven players, you need a squad to get you through if you want to win any trophy.
or could be used as bait in any swap deal involving say
Brighton’s Ben White or other candidate we are after?
Wink’s valuation I hazard a guess at say between £30m-£40m? will if he wants to leave the club likely attract plenty of suitors for his services at the right price!!
Regrettably at the highest level comfortable with his limited repertoire but lacking visionary defence splitting passes – neat and tidy- maybe ok for the Championship but at PL level is not sufficient!
Whilst I agree with some of the comments that have been made, still feel Harry is a valued squad player & will be needed at some point this season due to injury or suspension.
He isn’t a player that catches your eye every match but he is steady, neat & tidy, always keeping it simple.
Well articulated. Having had high hopes for Harry “neat and tidy” Winks when he first burst onto the scene scoring the winning debut goal against West Ham he has since stagnated (lacking the killer pass and chipping in with some goals) which is disappointing as I had visions of him captaining both club and country!! C’est la vie.
Winks is a decent squad player and works hard for the team, but nothing more. He has a rather limited skill set and if you analyse the two areas of midfield where he is competing for playing time, he lacks any one standout ability that might elevate him into the starting line-up in either of them.
As a DM, Hojbjerg is streets ahead of him and Sissoko, albeit less skilled, is a far more dominant, physical, player, with better defensive instincts. As for CM, Ndombele is a far more talented and dynamic option and Lo Celso also has better technical ability, which leaves Winks no better than third choice in either position