Graeme Souness has lavished praise on Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks, and has encouraged him to use his loan spell in Italy as an opportunity to improve his game and come back to North London a better player.
Winks is a product of the Tottenham Hotspur academy, developing through the ranks before making his debut for the first team back in 2014 (Transfermarkt).
The English midfielder found himself on the fringes under Antonio Conte though, and was deemed surplus to requirements this summer (Football.London). A long search for a new club ended with Winks heading out on loan to Serie A side Sampdoria for the season.
The Italian club are believed to have a purchase option in the agreement which would allow them to sign Winks permanently for €25m (£21 million), though this is not mandatory (Fabrizio Romano).
While many suspect Winks’ future lies away from North London, Souness clearly sees a future for him at Spurs if he can make the most of this loan move.
In his column for The Daily Mail, Souness had plenty of nice things to say about Winks, and urged him to take advantage of his time with Sampdoria, a club Souness enjoyed a spell at back in his playing days.
He said: “I am pleased to see that Harry Winks, a very gifted midfielder, has headed on loan to my old team Sampdoria from Tottenham.
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“In many ways, I would like to have spent more than the two years I did at that excellent club. Italy was a great place to be a midfielder in the 1980s because there wasn’t the same intense pressing as in England.
“It won’t be the same now for Winks because everyone presses these days. But he can go there both for the life experience and the football experience. He should soak it all up. He will come back a better human being and a better player.”
Spurs Web Opinion
As much as we all love Harry Winks for his dedication and passion for the club, we just can’t see a future for him at Tottenham Hotspur sadly.
Nevertheless, Souness makes a good point, and it would be fantastic to see Winks thrive over in Italy this season. A fresh start like this, in a completely different country and with a different style of play, could be just what Winks needs to revive his career.
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