Harry Winks was on the bench during Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat at Southampton.
Paul Merson has claimed that Harry Winks is ‘no Matic’ as he was adamant that the Tottenham man cannot do what the Manchester United player does in midfield or what Chelsea legend, Claude Makelele, used to do during his career.
On New Year’s Day, Spurs suffered a 1-0 defeat at Southampton, only days after recording a 2-2 draw against another team fighting the drop in Norwich City – Merson admitted that he is ‘a fan’ of Winks, but questioned whether he can play that number 6 role, which was made famous by Makelele under Mourinho over a decade ago.
Winks was suspended for the Carrow Road trip and Mourinho opted to name the Spurs academy product on the bench against the Saints.
Speaking to Soccer Special on Sky Sports (01/01/2020 at 2 pm start), Merson thinks that Mourinho needs that ‘Makelele’ type of person in front of his defence and explained why Winks wouldn’t be able to play that famous role.
“You look at Mourinho’s teams, he’s had Makelele sitting in front of the back four, he’s had a Matic, who has come to Manchester United and sat in front of the back four,” Merson told Sky Sports. “Disclpned players that sit in front of the back four, know their job and break things up. You look at this Tottenham team. Everybody wants to get forward. And you look at them they just keep on getting run at.
On whether Winks can do that: “He does do it. He’s not in the team [starting XI for Saints], he’s come back from suspension, so you think he [would have] put him straight in.
“He’s one of them. He’s good on the ball. I am a Winks fan. He’s great at keeping the ball and moving it. [But] he doesn’t break up anything. He’s not a Makele. He’s not a Matic. He’s not going to break anything up. If teams are breaking, he’s not going to break an attack or win a tackle. For me, I think this team is miles too open.”
One thing Mourinho has always done in his previous jobs is spent a lot of money in the transfer market and bought a spine in which he has built his team around.
It could be argued that Spurs need a goalkeeper for the long-term, require refreshment at centre-back, either need players to step up in the holding role or go out and buy someone that will.
They may also need to buy a creative spark if Christian Eriksen does decide to run down his contract, and their needs to be a back-up to star man, Harry Kane.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
