By London correspondent Tony Hughes
Harry Winks made his full Tottenham debut on Wednesday night – and fans took to Twitter to commend his display.
The 20-year-old central midfielder was handed his first competitive start against Gillingham in the EFL Cup as Mauricio Pochettino’s side won 5-0 to secure a smooth passage to the last-16 of the competition.
Pochettino made 11 changes from the team that won 1-0 in the Premier League against Sunderland on Sunday, and used the match against League One opposition to give rare opportunities to Winks and Tom Carroll in central midfield.
The two academy graduates dominated the midfield as they demonstrated the depth in Pochettino’s squad.
Winks signed a new Spurs contract last Friday which ties him to the club until 2021.
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Supporters were delighted that Pochettino had given some game times to the 20-year-old, who has been a regular in the matchday squad this season.
Fans praised his poise on the ball and were impressed by how he dominated the midfield in alliance with the more experienced Carroll.
Here is a selection of their messages on Twitter:
Winks my personal favourite tonight. He looks ready #coys
— Kevin (@WelshSpur07) September 21, 2016
Great to be back at WHL tonight. Winks + Lamela very impressive – great to see Janssen get off the mark #COYS #THFC pic.twitter.com/4h6PGHdMf2
— Joe Rutterford (@joerutterford) September 21, 2016
Promising display from some of the youth today, Harry Winks in particular. Back to the premier league now, roll on Boro away. #COYS #THFC
— Gary Eddings (@g_eddings92) September 21, 2016
Winks was outstanding. Drove from midfield when he needed, kept it simple when required, also got stuck in. He can defo play in prem #COYS
— Ryan Alex (@Major_Hank) September 21, 2016
Was very impressed with CarterVickers, Winks and Carol controlled midfield very well, Edwards looks tiny but wow what a prospect! #coys#thfc
— Paul Ridley (@Pridley1974Paul) September 21, 2016
Great night so good to see so many youngsters from academy on pitch special mentions for Carter-Vickers = a rock & Winks = dominant #COYS
— PoorMisguidedFool (@fttfracing) September 21, 2016
Well that was worth it.
Harry Winks is a player isn’t he?
Top performance from the academy boys.#COYS— Ben Thornton (@thornton_b) September 21, 2016
In other Tottenham news, Pochettino has claimed these two Spurs wonderkids can become great players.
