On the latest episode of the Last Word on Spurs podcast, Ricky Sacks, Chris Cowlin, Jamie Brown and Lee McQueen have been reflecting on Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 defeat against Royal Antwerp in the Europa League.
One topic of conversation on the recent episode, which was titled: ‘Lessons To Learn‘, was Spurs midfielder, Harry Winks. The England international made his seventh start of the season in the defeat in Belgium and picked up a disappointing 6.13 rating for his display. The 24-year-old is a product of the youth academy at Spurs and since making his debut for the club as an 18-year-old back in 2014, he has gone on to make 151 appearances, contributing just two goals and two assists (per Transfermarkt).
Following a disappointing display in Spurs’ most recent fixture, Cowlin was critical of the midfielder during the podcast, saying:
“It’s all about taking opportunities. He’s not [taken them]. He’s had a tough season so far, I’ve said on this show before, you will always get passion with Harry Winks. Is he good enough to be playing in a Premier League-contending team? [Sighs]. Jose Mourinho is obviously doing some great work, he’s brought in some great players in the summer. Will he be at Tottenham next season? I’m not so sure.
“You’ve got to take opportunities in these types of games. It’s frustrating, it really is. I don’t know what more to say on Harry Winks. Games like this, you should be performing. When we’ve seen Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg come in and we’ve seen the work that he has been putting in, the shift that he’s been putting in, showing real leadership qualities – we’re not seeing that from Harry Winks, and that is exactly what he should be doing on the pitch.”
TIF Thoughts on Cowlin’s criticism of Harry Winks…
Winks has certainly not been at his best so far this season, having averaged a disappointing 6.22 rating across his four appearances in the Premier League (per Whoscored).
Is Winks good enough for Spurs?
Yes
No
Last season, the 24-year-old earned a slightly better 6.57 rating across his 31 top-flight appearances, although with Spurs’ signing of Hojbjerg, as well as Tanguy Ndombele, who has established himself as a regular in Mourinho’s squad so far this season, you do worry that if Winks’ performances don’t improve, he could struggle to keep his place in the Lilywhites’ starting line-up, with Cowlin going as far to say that he might not even be at the club next season.