Michael Beale was in Italy last weekend in what he claimed was a work trip. He specifically mentioned watching and speaking to players and since this statement there have been rumours circulating that one player he could’ve been speaking to is Spurs’ midfielder Harry Winks.
Name – Harry Winks
Age – 27
Nationality – English
Position – CM
Club – Spurs
A technically gifted midfielder who is incredibly comfortable receiving the ball anywhere on the pitch. His sense of awareness is what sets him apart from other players, always composed on the ball, even with opponents closing in, he never seems to break a sweat.
He’s currently in a position similar to what Todd Cantwell was with being out of favour at his parent club. Fans of both Spurs and Sampdoria recognise the talent he has as his positional sense and spatial awareness make it seem like he’s always in the right place at the right time.
Once very highly rated at Spurs he fell out of favour as the club brought in more and more big money signings. Conte also seemed to favour the development of Oliver Skipp over Winks’ game time.
After injury impacted the start of his loan spell at Sampdoria he’s been playing regularly, these are his numbers in Serie A;
- 13 Appearances (12 Starts)
- 85% Pass Accuracy
- 1.1 Interceptions Per Game
- 1.3 Tackles Per Game
- 1 Clearance Per Game
- 69% Dribble Success
- 43% Total Duels Won
You can never have enough players with high intelligence on the pitch and he fits that bill. A play style eerily similar to Billy Gilmour he could fill that position in should Rangers fail to ever convince the young Scot to come back to Ibrox.
It seems unlikely Sampdoria will trigger the buy clause in Winks’ loan contract and he’ll return to Spurs with a year left on his contract. A cut price transfer could work well for both clubs but it could be a heavy outlay for Rangers, specifically in the wage department.
Players with Champions League and international experience don’t always become available to Rangers, especially ones about to hit their prime. If this is a transfer which is financially viable then Rangers should jump on it before someone else does.
Would you like to see Harry Winks at Ibrox? Is he the type of midfielder you think Rangers need?