Jermaine Jenas heaped praise on Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks for his performance in the Champions League final against Liverpool.
Mauricio Pochettino elected to start Winks in midfield, and the 23-year-old repaid the Argentine’s faith by helping his side retain possession and regain their composure after conceding an early goal in Madrid.
Winks’ presence was vital for Spurs in the first half an hour, before he was brought off by Pochettino on 65 minutes, with the Englishman managing to dictate the play for Spurs in midfield and prevent Liverpool from getting into their usual rhythm.
Jenas heaped praise on Winks and suggested that he believes Pochettino’s decision to start the midfielder was proven to be the correct one.
“One decision I think Mauricio has got right, that seemed like a risk at the time, is the involvement of Harry Winks in today’s game. I think he has been the midfielder to dictate the tempo of the game. That shows the level he has in that midfield and Tottenham have needed that,” Jenas told BT Sport 2 [9:13pm] in co-commentary of the Champions League final.
OPINION
Jenas was right to praise the performance of Winks during Tottenham’s defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League final. The 23-year-old was, as Jeans, suggests a potentially surprising selection to start the game by Pochettino, but the midfielder certainly proved to justify his selection being one of Spurs’ better players despite the defeat. Winks got on the ball and helped his side dictate the match at times during the first hour in Madrid, before he was surprisingly brought off midway through the second half. The Englishman’s performance suggests that he could be ready for a major role in Tottenham’s midfield next season, and despite the disappointment of ending up on the losing side the midfielder deserved to be praised for managing to make an impact on the game. Tottenham will be hoping that Winks can replicate this sort of performance consistently for them next term, as they look to recover from the defeat in the Champions League final.