Martin Keown shared his worry over Tottenham letting midfielder Mousa Dembele leave the club before revealing he believed it meant that Harry Winks now had to prove his consistency.
The former Arsenal player in his column for the Daily Mail (print edition, Saturday January 19th, page 119) delivered his verdict on Dembele departing Spurs following the club confirming his exit via their official Twitter on Thursday.
“I get why Tottenham have let Mousa Dembele leave for China. He turns 32 this summer and has missed a large chunk of the season through injury. But can any Spurs player honestly look around the dressing room and say their squad is stronger without him?” wrote Keown.
Keown then shared that Dembele’s recent exit reminded him of Edu leaving Arsenal in 2005 before claiming that Winks now have to prove that Pochettino was right to have confidence in him to replace the Belgian international.
“In letting Dembele go, Mauricio Pochettino is clearly confident Harry Winks is a good enough replacement.
“Winks now has to prove he is capable of running games on a consistent basis.”
OPINION
Winks has had a memorable season so far and looks like being back to his best after injuries previously played havoc with his development. The 22-year-old has made 29 appearances this season as has looked a vital cog in Pochettino’s side. However it’s easy to see where Keown is coming from by saying that Winks has to prove himself now more than ever with Dembele being completely gone from the club. The 31-year-old Belgian midfielder may have only managed 13 appearances this season but after wowing and being a consistent force in Spurs’ side in recent seasons, his loss is a notable one. It’s hard to disagree with Keown’s suggestion that due to the midfielder’s injury problems and contract being previously set to expire in the summer that letting him go was in fact the correct decision. Yet you feel that perhaps there is no one on Dembele’s level, if you ignore his injury concerns, left in the midfield and Winks is only on the brink of getting that good and reliable.