Sky Sports pundit Tony Cascarino has urged Gareth Southgate to start Harry Winks in midfield for England’s Nations League showdown against Croatia on Sunday.
The former striker is convinced that rising star Winks has the technical ability and distribution to run the show in Wembley’s 2pm kick-off against Luka Modric and company.
Cascarino is convinced England should stick with the flat back four that worked in the recent goalless draw against Croatia rather than the five-man defence of the World Cup semi-final.
“I would have the Tottenham Hotspur pairing of Harry Winks and Dele Alli just ahead of Jordan Henderson in midfield, and play Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling in attack. That trio should be the long-term front line,” Cascarino told the Times.
“Rashford and Sterling are capable of sprinting into the space behind the Croatia backline to collect the ball, so I would pick Winks and ask him to supply the front line. It’s important to have a central midfielder with an eye for a through ball and the Tottenham player has shown he is capable of that.”
OPINION
Winks’ star is on the rise again after a difficult six months in which memories of his autumn breakthrough last year had faded and he was reduced to watching on from the sidelines amid ankle trouble. Mauricio Pochettino urged the academy product to toughen up, accept the injuries that are par for the course and to show him why he is so special. Winks has start to do that in recent weeks, and, with doubts over the Spurs futures of Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama, the opportunity is there for him to make himself untouchable at club level. It is the same for their national team, where the likes of Jordan Henderson, Eric Dier and Fabian Delph are decent players, but lacking the class and technical ability of Winks. Cascarino is right. He deserves the chance to start against Croatia and show England what they could have had in the summer’s World Cup semi-final.