Jamie Redknapp has been blown away by the impact made by Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks and highlighted a statistic to underline his passing excellence.
Writing in his weekly Daily Mail column, the high-profile pundit explained how Winks can go under the radar but brings something extra to club and country after missing a big chunk of 2018 due to injury.
“Like [Ross] Barkley, Winks has had a long recovery from a bad injury, with ankle problems keeping him out for much of last season,” Redknapp told the Daily Mail.
“While Winks may not play the same Hollywood passes as Barkley, rarely do you see him lose possession. He gets it, gives it and keeps things simple.
“Winks has been successful with at least 90 per cent of his passes in four of the five games he has started for Tottenham this season. He attempted 70 passes in Spurs’ win at West Ham on Saturday — more than any player on the pitch — and completed 63.
“Barkley and Winks prove that we have creative players who can keep the ball. With Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard to come back from injury, the talent pool in England’s midfield suddenly looks a whole lot deeper.”
OPINION
Every team needs a player like Winks, who never does anything that makes your jaw drop, but keeps everything ticking over unfussily and with a kind of metronomical brilliance. The Spurs academy product is starting to re-establish himself after a difficult nine months in which he has struggled to cope with the physical pain – and accompanying mental anguish – of an ankle problem that he has admitted still causes him daily bother. Winks has benefitted from an injury to main man Mousa Dembele and the continuing knee troubles of Victor Wanyama to get back in the Spurs team, as well as the England one. Can he stay there now Dembele is fit again? That is the question, and Mauricio Pochettino will have some selection headaches as Spurs prepare for tomorrow night’s Champions League clash at PSV Eindhoven, a match they must win to get their campaign on track after consecutive defeats to Inter Milan and Barcelona.