Harry Winks solves attacking woes for Tottenham

Harry Winks was arguably the most important player in Tottenham’s win over Fulham. With Spurs missing some key forwards, Winks could be the answer to his side’s attacking woes over the coming weeks.

Winks was dangerous throughout the match against the Cottagers . While he didn’t score until the last minute, he did well when he found himself in the opponent’s third. He has matured greatly and has shown himself to think more clearly in high-pressure situations.

The 22 year-old was essentially the only defensive midfielder for much of the game since Pochettino chose to go with 5 in the back. With the defensive back line being the healthiest part of the Spurs lineup, we may be seeing this formation more while other parts of the team are recovering.

Thankfully, Dier is back and was healthy enough to be subbed on during the Sunday match. Maybe Poch will choose him to be the main defensive midfielder going forward. This may be highly effective as Winks has shown himself to be invaluable offensively.

This was seen in the final play of the Fulham match where Winks began and ended the attack. Winks cut off a cross, passed the ball ahead, and barreled up the right sideline.  Nkoudou found Winks in the box and Tottenham end the game up by 1. Winks’ finishing ability was on full display and he scored with his only shot of the contest.

Another somewhat under-appreciated part of Winks’ offensive play is his passing ability. It was found in early January that he is one of the Premier League’s best passers. In the report, his pass accuracy was an amazing 93.28%.

It is possible, then, that Winks could grow into more of a Christian Eriksen-type and less of a Moussa Sissoko-type.

When Sissoko gets back from injury, Spurs will have 3 capable defensive midfielders aside from Winks. Pochettino may choose to keep Winks in his current position. If he does that, he should encourage Winks to go forward, as he did against Fulham. If Winks gets in a practice of doing this, Tottenham just may have a world-class attacking midfielder right under their noses.

This offensive help will be especially vital since Tottenham have 3 more matches to complete their busy January. If Winks hones these skills, he may be a dangerous offensive weapon for years, let alone during the absence of Kane and Son.