£40m player linked to Everton and Aston Villa has just been dropped from squad

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Everton and Aston Villa baulked at Tottenham Hotspur’s valuation for Harry Winks last month – and rightly so.

The Times reported earlier in September that Spurs demanded an eye-watering £40 million for their 25-year-old midfielder.

And quite understandably, Everton and Aston Villa were both put off the idea [The Times].

But if either Premier League club was genuinely interested, the chances are he’ll be available again in January – and probably for much, much less.

That’s because Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo has just axed from his squad for Sunday’s North London derby defeat by Arsenal.

Winks was nowhere to be seen as the Lilywhites suffered a 3-1 defeat at the Emirates and with no injury reported, it’s as simple as the Portuguese coach just not having the player in his plans.

Winter exit on the cards

He’ll be a lot more attainable for the Toffees or Villa in the winter, for two reasons.

Firstly, Winks himself never pushed for a move away from Spurs, which impacted on their attempts to offload him, but he must know now that he’s nowhere near Nuno’s plans this season and for the sake of his career, he needs to leave.

And secondly, Daniel Levy’s bluff on that £40 million demand was called and a more realistic value in January – and less intimidating – could see Aston Villa and Everton return to the table, if they were keen in the first place.