Danny Murphy has named Harry Winks as one of the most exciting among the “next generation” of Premier League rising stars.
Writing for the Mail on Sunday, the high-profile pundit highlighted Tottenham’s Winks and West Ham’s Declan Rice as two youngsters with the potential to dominate in midfield at an elite level.
Murphy explained how Manchester United don’t have a top-class central midfielder, especially as Paul Pogba is more effective in an advanced role in which he can create and score goals.
“At the moment, they are using [Nemanja] Matic and Ander Herrera together in order to give Pogba freedom in a 4-3-3, but they are not as well-balanced a pair as [Marco] Verratti-Marquinhos were for PSG,” Murphy told the Mail.
“The right players aren’t easy to find. The next generation are showing promise and I’ll keep a close eye on Harry Winks and Declan Rice.
“They both look like they have the technical ability and Winks is getting useful experience in big games. Is Rice a future Manchester United player? He’s physically strong and only just turned 20, so let’s see.”
OPINION
Winks demonstrated with another stellar Champions League display in midweek that he is the real deal. He’s made 23 Premier League appearances this season, including 15 starts, but it’s in Europe’s elite competition that he has often looked most effective. Spurs fans were drooling not only over his performance against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, but also masterclasses against Real Madrid last season and Inter Milan and Barcelona in the current campaign. Winks’ quality on the ball and ability to operate decisively in tight spaces stands out, but he is quick and mobile, too. There is a sense that he can be even more effective at carrying the ball forward as he develops and learns the central midfield role even better. Rice is a more obvious midfield anchorman, as he is powerful as well as composed, but Winks is a ball player who can play one and two touch, while also producing the defence-splitting passes that opponents can’t legislate for. As Murphy suggests, he is a huge talent.