Tottenham need to hand Harry Winks more responsibility
Before Tottenham go out and spend big money on a defensive midfielder in January, they must figure out exactly how good Harry Winks can be.
It’s very obvious Mauricio Pochettino is going to push Daniel Levy to invest in the Tottenham squad in January. At first glance, the defensive midfield seems like a prime area to strengthen. Before Spurs drop a ton of cash on that spot, they need to figure out just how much they can rely on Harry Winks.
The 22-year-old midfielder has been excellent in Spurs’ last two matches. He came off the bench in the 1-0 loss to Manchester City and completely “changed the game” according to Pep Guardiola. It wasn’t enough to get Tottenham a big win, but he clearly upped his squad’s tempo after being introduced.
He kept his personal momentum going less than 48 hours later at West Ham. Again, he helped his club control the midfield and push the ball forward. It wasn’t his best match, but it was another above-average performance in front of Pochettino and the coaching staff.
The key thing for Spurs now will be to determine just how much they can rely on Winks moving forward. Part of that will be an issue of health. His slight frame makes him more injury prone than the club would like. There’s hope he will become more durable as his body develops, but that’s something Tottenham officials will need to consider carefully.
More importantly, Pochettino must decide if he’s the sort of midfielder he wants to build the centre of his squad around. Deploying Winks as a defensive midfielder does require Tottenham to deploy a more natural defender next to him. It’s possible Eric Dier can be that player, but both Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama are candidates to be sold in January. If Winks is going to become a regular member of the starting XI it will have a direct impact on the kind of player Tottenham look to purchase.
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Ultimately, this is a good problem for Pochettino, Levy and the rest of the club’s brain trust. Winks’ continued development, at the very least, prevents the club from appearing desperate for midfield reinforcements in the transfer window. The young Englishman shouldn’t keep his club out of the market, but he has the ability to drastically change Tottenham’s purchase plans.