Tottenham’s Harry Winks has been compared to former Spurs midfielder Michael Carrick.
The 22-year-old has been crucial to Tottenham this season, especially in recent months as at any given time three or four centre-midfielders have been out injured.
How has Winks stepped up this season? Five things to know…
- Winks is a Spurs academy product, making his Premier League debut in 2016.
- He has since gone on to appear 91 times in all competitions.
- This season he has played 30 times, three less than the 2016/17 season where he appeared most in his career.
- Winks scored a last-minute winner against Fulham in the league last weekend.
- Mousa Dembele has been sold to Guangzhou R&F, while Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier have been injured at points this season.
Former England midfielder Joe Cole suggested during the Carabao Cup semi-final between Spurs and Chelsea, that the Hemel Hempstead-born player – who featured as Spurs fought back from 2-0 down only to eventually lose on penalties – is very highly rated within the England coaching set-up, claiming he is in regular contact with their coaches.
“He is very well thought of in the England set up. I speak to a lot of the coaches who work with him,” Cole said on Sky Sports, via HITC.
“He’s one of those players who is like a Carrick, a players’ player. You appreciate him and the fans might think what he’s doing is simple, but he always receives it away from the player and his passes are crisp. I think he’s going to go on and have a great career.”
Is Winks the next Carrick?
Winks currently has three England caps, after having made his first appearance in 2017.
The Spurs man might have featured in more, and ultimately the World Cup last year, had it not been for an ankle injury sustained in a league match against Crystal Palace on 5 November 2017.
Carrick meanwhile famously went under the radar, making only 33 caps during his England career, often being overlooked for other English centre-midfielders.
Both players put a premium on ball retention and simple passing over the elaborate, although Winks at 22 is seemingly far more mobile than Carrick was in his prime.
Neither player have or had an obvious eye for goal either, but Gareth Southgate might come to view Winks as a crucial cog in an England midfield that is still crying out for control and passing aptitude.
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