Harry Winks
Tottenham’s best feel good moment of the year came in the form of Harry Winks match-tying goal against West Ham last weekend. Unfortunately, the English starlet wasn’t able to build on the performance in his next start against Monaco.
That can’t be a real surprise to anyone considering his age and lack of experience. Winks has a bright future ahead of him, but he isn’t quite ready for the big time yet.
Pochettino and company need to treat him very carefully over the next few months. They can’t afford to overexpose him against top-level opponents. He should stay in the mix, but doesn’t need to be a player who starts every week.
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Instead, Tottenham need to pick their spots with Winks. They need to find him the right matchups where he can succeed. That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t play against quality opposition, it just means that he can’t get fed too much, too soon.
The real key for Winks will be to establish a clear position in advance of next season. Pochettino has deployed him as an attacking midfielder as of late after being a more defensive player early in the season. If he’s going to play in the attacking trio, he will need to add forward runs to his game. If he’s going to stay further back, he needs to sure up his defensive positioning. Given his lack of size, moving ahead would preferable in the long run.