Graham Roberts has revealed he feels sorry that Harry Winks has been frozen out at Tottenham but insisted the midfielder is not good enough to play for Spurs given the club’s aspirations.
Winks is one of four first-team players along with Giovani Lo Celso, Sergio Reguilon and Tanguy Ndombele, who has been left out of Antonio Conte’s pre-season plans so far.
The midfielder, who has been restricted to inconsistent starts over the last couple of years, is expected to leave his boyhood club this summer, with reports indicating that the 26-year-old is desperate to play regularly during the upcoming campaign (The Evening Standard).
Everton (Liverpool Echo), Southampton (Standard), Leicester City (Daily Mail) Crystal Palace (Sami Mokbel –Last Word On Spurs) have all been credited with an interest in the England international.
Roberts admitted he did see some signs of improvement from Winks during the 2021/22 campaign but stated that on the whole, the midfielder is not of the required standard to help take Tottenham to the next level.
The Spurs legend told Chris Cowlin YouTube channel: “Winks, I feel sorry for Harry Winks because when he got in the team he was passing the ball forwards.
“All of a sudden in the last few years he’s been getting it, giving to the centre-half, getting it back and giving it to the other centre-half. The game is about going forward not backwards.
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“People say to me that Winks has like 340 touches in a game, but they’re all to the centre-halves. You have to be more expansive. I feel sorry for him but would we win a trophy with Winks in the team? Not really.”
Spurs Web Opinion
While Winks might not having the passing range to play as a ‘regista’ in front of the back line, I see him as a very useful box-to-box player as a part of a midfield three. In fact, he was excellent in Conte’s system when he got opportunities against the likes of Liverpool and Leeds last season.
The Italian might have involved the 26-year-old in his pre-season plans and even kept him around as a squad player had the midfielder not expressed a desire to leave in search of regular football.
The amount of flak that Winks gets from Spurs fans on social media is ridiculous. Just as the likes of Dier and Davies did last season, the England international is more than capable of making his doubters eat their words if he joins a possession-based side like Brighton or Leeds.
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