Danny Murphy has made the outlandish comment that Tottenham ace Harry Winks can go on to become one of England’s greatest ever midfielders.
The 21-year-old has fully broken into the senior Spurs team this campaign and his reputation has shot up in the past month.
He has capitalised on his opportunity to become a regular in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI and was also rewarded by England boss Gareth Southgate with his first senior international cap in October.
Winks has recently impressed twice on the European stage against Real Madrid and the central midfielder has caught the eye for his technical ability.
The Spurs academy graduate is very comfortable in possession and is becoming a key member for the North London club.
BBC pundit Murphy has raved about the qualities of the youngster and has even claimed he could go on to become an England great.
However, those suggestions seem far too premature right now as he has only made 48 senior appearances for Spurs and it’s unclear how he will develop further down the line.
Claiming that he could follow in the footsteps of the likes of Paul Gascoigne, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes, Bryan Robson, Steven Gerrard and Sir Bobby Charlton is definitely a step too far.
“Name me a better English midfielder than Harry Winks,” Murphy wrote in the Evening Standard.
“I do not see anyone in the Premier League who is superior to him right now and I believe he can become one of the finest midfielders this country has ever seen.
“If Gareth Southgate picked his starting XI for the World Cup today, then Winks would be in it.”
OPINION
It has happened countless times that emerging youngsters are labelled as the next best thing and everyone needs to take a step back on Winks. The youngster is enjoying his first full season of senior football and still has so much to learn, something that brilliant man-manager Pochettino will help with. Winks appears to have the makings of a top player and from an England perspective he is an exciting prospect because of his technical ability. There is every chance he could grow into a top player, but overhyping him at this early stage could stall his progress.