Fresh reports citing Tottenham Hotspur’s interest in RB Leipzig midfielder Konrad Laimer could cast doubt over Harry Winks’ future in north London.
According to the German outlet Kicker, Spurs are believed to be in the running to sign the Austrian and if a move were to materialise it would certainly put Winks’ position in the squad under threat – TIF will explain why…
Moving closer to the exit door
With the Englishman currently behind winter signing Rodrigo Bentancur, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oliver Skipp under manager Antonio Conte in the pecking order one would assume that the arrival of another midfielder at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would be the last straw for the 26-year-old.
Despite being dubbed a “reliable” option by the Italian head coach, the struggling academy graduate has found game time hard to come by in the Premier League this season, with just 888 minutes and nine starts to his name.
Bentancur has established himself alongside Hojbjerg in the engine room with Winks seemingly surplus to requirements and it is still unknown where he can best operate.
Aside from his passing ability, the midfielder hasn’t exactly offered much going forward or indeed in defence and he pales in comparison when it comes to the highly sought-after Laimer, with just 1.61 tackles and 1.43 interceptions per 90 throughout the course of his domestic league career – which is fewer than Laimer’s 4.8 tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes during his tenure in Leipzig.
The importance of the £91k-per-week midfielder has waned in recent seasons. He made 31 appearances in the league during the 2019/20 campaign, while over the last two seasons has managed just 32.
Conte is used to managing high-end players and Laimer does seem to fit the bill where Winks cannot.
The £23.4m-rated dynamo has chipped in with five goals and six assists this season, highlighting his all-round game, and incredibly, that is the exact amount of goal contributions that Winks has provided in a Spurs shirt in 201 appearances.
Once described as “incredibly aggressive on the ball” by his former boss Adi Hutter and compared to former Conte star N’Golo Kante, there would appear to be a gulf in class between the Austrian and Spurs’ current number eight.
Winks’ contract is up in 2024 and nothing would suggest that he has much of a future at the club beyond that.
It will be intriguing to see whether or not Spurs decide to strengthen in that area in the summer and indeed if they were to, what the status of Winks would be come the end of the window.