OPINION
Tottenham have established a proud tradition of developing, either through their youth system or by snapping up the top talent around, some of the best English players that the country has to offer today.
With Kyle Walker and Danny Rose having established themselves while in north London, the likes of Harry Kane, Kieran Trippier and Eric Dier have all become mainstays of the Three Lions while with Spurs, and the latest man to make the grade has been Harry Winks.
The 22-year-old has been a mainstay for his club when fit and his form under Mauricio Pochettino has earned him a place in Gareth Southgate’s senior England squad, with two caps to his name so far.
However, while more appearances for the first team will be his target, his mind seems to be set on dropping down a tier and competing for the England under-21 side, where he has another two outings under his belt, finding himself eligible to play at next summer’s European Championships.
Speaking of his plans to the Evening Standard, he said: “(Any issues returning to under-21 football?) No, of course not. The more games I play the better. I have missed a lot of football with my ankle injury and I’ve had a lot of problems with it still to this day.
“I have to manage it at times, but playing for your country is an honour, regardless of the level; under 21s, under 19s, under 18s, under 17s. Every level is an absolute honour for me, but especially the seniors. Right now I am trying to focus on playing for the seniors as much of the time as I possibly can and, obviously, going back to club football and trying to impress and stay in the team there at Tottenham.”
However, as stated by the midfielder himself, there have been an ankle injury which has troubled him for much of his fledgling career, and while playing football will help strengthen that, he cannot afford to over-exert himself – or face his career at Spurs ending in tears.
It is an issue that manager Pochettino says will always be a problem, and as such the young talent must be careful of managing it or face the consequences, which could see his playing career falter early on.
While he would no doubt love to play for the under-21s, he needs to think about his future, not the past, and as an established member of the first team for both club and country that is where his focus should lie.
It means binning his plans of playing next summer and taking the time to rest and recuperate after the current campaign, but if he were to fail to do so then he could well be endangering his time on the pitch.