Tottenham Hotspur have cast aside plenty of talented players recently who were simply not meeting the grade.
Tom Carroll has completed his move to Swansea City from Tottenham Hotspur.
The BBC reported yesterday that the midfielder was to undergo a medical at the club ahead of completing a £4.5 million move to the Liberty Stadium.
Carroll, who spent the 2014-15 season on loan at Swansea, is a talented player but simply did not have enough to make the grade at White Hart Lane.
Tottenham’s Tom Carroll celebrates after scoring
The 24-year-old is now at a stage where he needs to move on and he is not alone in this pathway at Spurs.
Ryan Mason was sold to Hull City, Nabil Bentaleb cast aside to Schalke 04 and even Alex Pritchard was moved on despite all three being highly rated by Mauricio Pochettino.
The truth is, all of these players are good enough for Tottenham three years ago, but this is a title challenging Spurs side and they simply did not fit the bill.
So, what does it mean for Harry Winks?
Tottenham’s Dele Alli celebrates scoring their first goal with Harry Winks
The 20-year-old has had a breakthrough season so far and is clearly highly-rated by Pochettino. But the England under-21 international cannot rest on his laurels. He must continue to work hard and improve if he is to go far at White Hart Lane.
If he takes his foot off the pedal, then he could easily lose the interest of his manager and find himself similarly forgotten.
Hopefully Winks can buck that trend and go on to become a Tottenham regular for years to come.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
