Emile Heskey believes the ‘phenomenal’ Harry Winks would benefit from working under Brendan Rodgers at Tottenham Hotspur, speaking exclusively to HITC.
The writing was on the wall for Spurs’ long-serving academy graduate as soon as Jose Mourinho crashed through the doors in November 2019.
Throughout his managerial career, Mourinho has preferred to utilise a powerful, tough-tackling central midfielder at the base of his engine room; see Nemanja Vidic, Thiago Motta, even Pepe on occasions during his time at Real Madrid.
So Winks, a diminutive ball-player renowned more for his brains than his brawn, always looked in danger of falling by the wayside once Daniel Levy replaced the purist Pochettino for football’s uber-pragmatist.
Mourinho’s arguably-overdue departure, then, has suddenly left the door ajar for the likes of Winks, Dele Alli and even Danny Rose to kickstart their ailing Tottenham careers.
And Heskey feels that a forward-thinking tactician like Rodgers could be the man to get Winks playing at the peak of his powers once again after 17 difficult months.
“Winks is a phenomenal player. It would be great to see him back in the team,” the former England international says.
“He needs to play at this moment in time. He’s coming into the years where he really needs to cement a place and play regularly.
“He’s a ball-playing midfielder, really good on the ball, gets it in those little half-spaces and keeps things ticking over.
“So someone like Brendan Rodgers, that would suit him.”
Rodgers seemingly removed his name from the frame this week, confirming his commitment to a high-flying Leicester side.
But it is not hard to imagine the likes of Julian Nagelsmann, Marcelino and Erik Ten Hag, all of whom have been linked with the Spurs job this week, making Winks a key cog in their Tottenham teams.
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