‘Brilliant’ Tottenham player ‘in same boat as Dele Alli’ after Conte reveal – Hutton
Alan Hutton has insisted “confidence player” Harry Winks can succeed at Tottenham under Antonio Conte.
The former Spurs defender, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, claimed the 25-year-old is “in the same boat” as teammate Dele Alli.
Winks starred alongside Alli against Liverpool on Sunday (19 December) as Tottenham secured a 2-2 home draw – with the former claiming the assist for Heung-min Son’s 74th-minute leveller.
As quoted by the Independent post-match, Conte insisted he has been “impressed” with Winks in training – branding him a “very good player”.
The Liverpool game marked the England international’s second start under the Italian, and only his third of this term.
Hutton insisted Winks must “take more risks with the ball” in order to establish himself in Conte’s plans.
“He’s in the same boat as Dele Alli,” he told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury.
“There’s a brilliant player in there, and we saw that at the weekend [against Liverpool]. It wasn’t just sideways passing; he was going forwards and looking to take more risks with the ball at his feet.
“His assist to Son was an example of that, it was a great, forward-thinking pass.
“He’s very capable of that, but he’s a confidence player. If the fans are behind him and he’s playing well then everything’s rosy – but it’s about maintaining those levels.
“If you play in a midfield, especially in a 3-4-3, you have to be making those more penetrative passes. Of course, he can play under Conte, but he just has to keep doing that week-in, week-out.”
Winks had been linked with an exit from Tottenham.
Newcastle are reportedly targeting the 10-cap midfielder ahead of a potential January switch.
In other news, an insider has revealed Tottenham could soon be ‘laughing’ amid ‘£30m’ player prediction.