As the reporters attending Tottenham Hotspur’s weekly press conferences might have figured out by now, it doesn’t take much – a probing question, a word out of place – for Nuno Espirito Santo to go from personable to prickly in the blink of an eye.
And it seems that Harry Winks, too, has found himself on the wrong side of Jose Mourinho’s successor after daring to speak his mind and lay bare those frustrations for all the world to see.
It’s surely no coincidence that, after he appeared to question Nuno’s squad management after last week’s 1-0 Conference League defeat to Vitesse Arnhem, the England international has been left out of the matchday squad for two successive matches.
“No. No, I can’t [understand my lack of game-time],” admitted Winks, pointing out that the odd cup cameo every fortnight or so is not exactly the most effective means of building up a player’s confidence or match sharpness.
“But listen, the circumstances are that I’m in this situation. Of course (my confidence is low).
“I want to be at my best, firing and playing really well. It comes with games. But ultimately it comes with me performing on the pitch when I get the opportunity.
“If I’m not doing that, then I only have myself to blame. I’m man enough to admit that I need to improve in certain areas. On the contrary, I need to play games and the only way to (improve) is getting minutes and getting that sharpness back.”
Is Harry Winks destined to leave Tottenham Hotspur in January?
If Winks was hoping to draw attention to his plight – and encourage Nuno to hand him a more regular role in his plans – then it seems his rather public outburst has had the opposite effect.
Winks was nowhere to be seen during Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to West Ham (the fourth London derby defeat of the Nuno era already).
And, given that the 25-year-old has been a regular fixture in non-Premier League games, the expectation was that he’d be handed a start against Burnley in the EFL Cup on Wednedsay night.
According to the Mail, that will not be the case. Winks will be watching on from home, along with the similarly maligned Dele Alli.
With that in mind, a mid-season move away from the club where he made his name – The Sun believe that a newly-moneyed Newcastle United are interested in a player once valued at £40 million – appears to suit every party down to the ground.
With Newcastle looking to appoint a manager with a penchant for possession-based football – Paulo Fonseca, Erik Ten Hag or Lucien Favre – Winks could be revitalised at St James’ Park, playing the sort of string-pulling, tempo-setting role he performed so effectively under Mauricio Pochettino.
At Tottenham, it seems Winks needs an injury crisis, a spate of suspensions or a dramatic U-turn from the usually stubborn Nuno if he is to force his way back into the Premier League picture.
A miracle, in other words.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
