9. Harry Winks
Another player who has risen from the Tottenham Hotspur academy into the first-team is 20-year old midfielder Harry Winks. Winks signed his first professional contract with Tottenham in July 2014, and made his first-team debut 4 months later in a Europa League group stage game.
In 2015, he signed a new three-year contract with the club and was included in the first team. He only made two appearances that season, both in the Europa League. This season he has been involved in the Premier League 5 times. He was given his first league start on the 19 November 2016 and scored his first ever goal for the club.
After the game, manager Mauricio Pochettino was full of praise for Winks. “It was an emotional moment for him and for us because after two-and-a-half years working here. We believe in him and it’s fantastic. Today, he paid it all back. The players coming through the academy show passion and that is our identity,” Pochettino said after the game.
These words will be music to the ears of Harry Winks, who will hope to cement a spot in the Tottenham midfield in the years to come. Calm and composed on the ball, Winks and his old pal Dele Alli can form a formidable midfield partnership for Spurs.
Winks has been capped by England at U17, U18, U19 and U20 levels and was named in the U21s squad for the first time in November. Now he will be looking to develop further under Pochettino and continue his rise for both club and country.