Mauricio Pochettino has hailed Harry Winks as the “perfect midfielder” and believes the fit-again youngster adds something unique to Tottenham, according to London’s Evening Standard.
The 21-year-old made his first start in six months in the league cup snoozefest last week against Barnsley, and followed it up with a a fine display, like he’d never been away, during Tuesday’s 3-0 Champions League victory over Apoel in Cyprus.
Winks,called up to the England U21 squad yesterday, likes retain the ball and play on the front foot – a style rarely known in English midfielders. For Pochettino, the Winks’ versatility and football brain set him apart from the club’s other options. He is the perfect midfielder according to his manager.
Pochettino said “For me he is the perfect midfielder, who can play box-to-box and as a holding midfielder,
“He has the quality and the capacity to play, use the demands of the game and read it. He’s so clever and we are so happy that he’s started to feel better now, because he provides the team with qualities that we don’t have [in others].
“He is completely different to our other midfielders, like Victor Wanyama, Eric Dier, Mousa Dembele and Moussa Sissoko. The qualities he can add to the team are completely different.
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Winks’s superb vision and passing ability can help Spurs break down stubborn opponents, particularly at temporary home Wembley, where we certainly have found space in short supply particularly in the final third of the pitch.
Christian Eriksen has previously shouldered a lot of the creative responsibility, but as we saw on Tuesday Winks’s range of passing and driving runs helped to lessen the impact of Christian’s absence in Cyprus.
Poch stopped short of including Eriksen among the midfielders who differ from Winks, but like he did with Kane and Messi/Ronaldo comparisons,Winks manager won’t compare him with his Danish team mate: “It’s bad to compare two players. I think both are so good, and both fit perfectly for us. But in many aspects, they are different.”
With Mousa Dembele remaining sidelined with an ankle injury this weekend, it leaves Pochettino facing a choice between Winks and a resurgent Moussa Sissoko for the Belgian’s spot.
“Harry is starting to playing at his best, but we must be careful with him because, after a lot of time without competition, we need to provide him with good rest,” Pochettino said.
It is great to see young English players getting praise like Poch has given Winks. Harry has the right manager to aid his progression and it’s exciting to see him progress.
What do you guys think, will Harry get a chance to cement his place in Poch’s plans and become a regular for both club and country. The next “one of our own” perhaps.
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