Pundit blasts Winks after £40m Tottenham transfer report
Noel Whelan has insisted the likes of Harry Winks let Tottenham down “massively” with in Thursday’s defeat to Vitesse Arnhem.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, slammed Spurs’ international stars for failing to “turn up” for the Europa Conference League clash.
A second-string Tottenham side slipped to a 1-0 defeat in Arnhem.
However, senior players first-teamers Harry Winks, Giovani Lo Celso, Dele Alli and Steven Bergwijn all featured.
Speaking after the match on BT Sport, former Blackburn striker Chris Sutton singled out Alli and Winks for criticism, insisting their Spurs careers are “falling apart”.
He urged the pair to “buck their ideas up”.
Last month, The Times claimed Tottenham are willing to part with 10-cap England international Winks next summer – valuing him at around £40million.
Whelan suggested manager Nuno Espirito Santo will have been given no selection headaches ahead of this weekend’s clash against West Ham.
“There are not many people from that team last night who can be knocking on the door asking why they’re not playing in the Premier League,” he told Football Insider.
“That is what you want as a manager, those are the dilemmas you want.
“They’re the conversations you want to be having with players who have put in a massive performance and controlled the game – like Harry Winks should have been doing.
“That’s where he should be – dictating the pace, the tempo, the quality playing from front to back.
“Is it players lacking in confidence or belief? Because the manager has just given you the confidence by putting you in the starting eleven.
“We’re talking about internationals here, by the way, not lads from the under-23’s – and they can’t turn up and perform against Vitesse.
“They needed that standout player. The likes of Winks, they’ve let themselves down massively and haven’t given themselves a path to the first team.”
In other news, pundit delivers “worst I’ve seen” Tottenham verdict ahead of West Ham clash.