Tottenham clearly have high hopes for Harry Winks in their midfield. To get the most out of his talents, Spurs need to switch formations.
Harry Winks is working hard to recover from ankle surgery this summer, but it’s obvious Tottenham have high hopes for the young Englishman. If he’s going to reach his full potential, it’s going to require a significant philosophical shift from Mauricio Pochettino.
Winks certainly has the talent to be a quality Premier League midfielder, but he’s stuck in between positions for Spurs. His lack of size and power make it difficult for him to hold up in a two-man defensive midfield. Tottenham can get away with partnering him with a physical force like Victor Wanyama or Eric Dier against certain opponents, but he can’t hold up defensively against elite Premier League attackers.
He also isn’t a great fit to play in Pochettino’s attacking midfield trio. He’s clever on the ball, but he isn’t quite creative enough to create the number of chances required to play further forward for Spurs. Specifically, he’s not going to put either Christian Eriksen or Dele Alli on the bench. Winks also lacks the pace to serve as the wide man Pochettino likes to deploy in that third spot.
That means something has to change unless he’s just going to be a squad player for Spurs. The solution is pretty simple, but would require a pretty significant change. Tottenham must add the 4-3-3 formation to their regular list of setups.
Winks can easily fit into a midfield three with two strong defensive midfielders. His passing ability combined with his talent to make runs from deep would perfectly suit him to play that way. He could frequently run forward to spur the attack while two defensive midfielders sit back to cover the back four.
The presence of three outright attackers would also amplify Winks’ ability to pass the ball forward. He’d be responsible for spraying the ball out wide to players like Alli, Eriksen, Lucas and Heung-Min Son. Winks could also be counted on to fire incisive passes to Harry Kane through the middle. In that sort of role, it’s easy to envision Winks posting double-digit assists on the campaign.
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Don’t expect Pochettino and Tottenham to eliminate the 4-2-3-1 entirely in 2018/19, but expect Spurs to use more formations than they have previously. Leveraging Winks in a three-man midfield will get the most out of the bright young Englishman.