Harry Winks insists he is not feeling the pressure of replacing Mousa Dembele in Tottenham Hotspur’s midfield.
Dembele joined Chinese Super League club Guangzhou R&F last month, bringing to an end a seven-year stay in north London.
Is Winks Tottenham’s new Dembele? Five key things to know…
- Dembele gradually became a regular under Mauricio Pochettino’s management after rediscovering his best role in central midfield.
- But injuries and fitness issues – combined with the fact his contract was running down – saw Dembele leave for China in January.
- Winks has stepped into Dembele’s shoes this term and has played every minute in each of Spurs’ last eight Premier League games.
- However, Winks disputes suggestions he has directly replaced Dembele, hinting the team has collectively made up for the Belgian’s absence.
- Winks has scored just one goal since the start of last season – remarkably, that’s one more than Dembele managed in that time.
In the absence of Dembele and Eric Dier, Winks has played in a deep midfield role alongside Moussa Sissoko in recent weeks.
But the England international insists there is no pressure on him to replicate Dembele.
“I learned a lot from Mousa. He was a humble guy and a nice person to speak to. On the pitch he was one of the best players I’ve ever played with,” Winks said, according to the London Evening Standard.
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“I don’t feel the pressure [of having to replace him]. We have got a lot of good players who can step up and I don’t consider myself to have taken Mousa’s place.
“Scoring is something I’d love to improve on and bring into my game. I need to improve on my shooting and finishing because it’s not great.”
Winks: I try not to worry about ankle pain
Between his league debut for Tottenham and his exit, Dembele recorded a better dribble success rate (77.87%) than any other Premier League player (with a minimum of 200 attempted dribbles).
Winks has a dribble success rate of 72.22% this season, which isn’t bad at all. But, like Dembele, Winks must be careful not to worsen an ongoing ankle problem.
The 22-year-old doesn’t seem to have altered his game to avoid further injuries but admits he has played through pain at times.
He added: “Yeah, I have niggles in my ankle, which I’m managing to play with. I have managed to somehow put that to the back of my mind. I try not worry or overthink it too much.
“This season has been fantastic. I set some aims – just to play as many games as possible and stay fit all season. So far, so good. I’ve played a lot of matches and, fingers crossed, I will stay injury-free.”
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