Tottenham ace Winks could feature for England against Spain on Monday night.
Ray Parlour has told TalkSPORT that Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks needs to braver when in possession, ahead of England’s Nations League clash against Spain.
Winks, 22, has returned to the England set-up after a number of injuries that hampered his progression under Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham. Now fully fit, Gareth Southgate has called him back into the England squad.
The Spurs star was left on the bench against Croatia last time out as England drew 0-0 against the side that knocked them out of the World Cup semi-finals.
That could mean Winks will get his chance against Luis Enrique’s Spain on Monday night at Real Betis’ Benito Villamarín, but former Arsenal midfielder Parlour has given Winks some advice when it comes to possession.
“Sometimes, Harry needs to be a little bit more brave with the ball,” Parlour said. “It’s easy to go square or backwards, just be brave, go through the lines. You get at their defence, when you slow it down, you give Spain the opportunity.
“I don’t like possession stats. I could’ve played yesterday and passed it square, and finished with 98 per cent completion rate. As a midfielder, you’re first past should always be forward, always look forward.
“I’d rather look at how many chances you created, rather than possession. You might give it away a couple of times, but you might also create a couple of chances for your team to score. But it’s an opportunity for him.”
Winks has made nine appearances in all competitions this season and impressed in the 4-2 Champions League loss to Barcelona, and has now clocked up 70 appearances for the north Londoners.
The Spurs academy graduate has a contract at Spurs until the summer of 2022 and remains one of the players to benefit from Pochettino’s faith in youth, along with Kyle Walker-Peters and Cameron Carter-Vickers.
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