Steve McClaren praises Tottenham Hotspur’s forward-thinking midfielder Harry Winks

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Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks started for England as they routed Bulgaria on Monday night.

Steve McClaren has raved about Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Winks and the positivity he brought to England’s midfield during their 6-0 thrashing of Bulgaria on Monday night.

The former manager shared that Sir Alex Ferguson used to always tell him that a midfielder’s first thought needs to be to look ‘forward’ – that is something McClaren thinks that Winks did regularly on Monday.

Gareth Southgate made a number of changes to his starting XI for that Bulgaria game, with Winks coming in for the more defensive-minded Declan Rice.

Speaking to Match Centre on Sky Sports News (15/10/2019 at 10:40 am), former Three Lions coach, McClaren was seriously impressed with what he saw from Winks on Monday.

“Winks coming in gave England more balance in midfield and more mobility,” McClaren told Sky Sports. “He was busy. He was aggressive and he got the ball linked.

“And that key thing in that position, I always remember Sir Alex telling me, a key thing about a midfield player is that his first look has always got to be forward. Always got to be forward! And on Friday [against the Czech Republic], Rice got the ball, Henderson got the ball and the ball was square and back. It killed England.

“What Winks did and brought to the party was positive attacking. He was always looking to play that ball forward. I thought he was impressive in terms of that.”

Spurs academy product Winks has been in and out of Southgate’s plans since England reached the semi-final’s of the World Cup.

There are times when he was starting in the midfield that beat Spain in their own back yard not so long ago, but then he found himself out of Southgate’s plans for England’s UEFA Nations League outing in the summer, and once again he has since returned.

Winks will be hoping with the Euro’s around the corner that he can keep his place in the starting XI and provide England with that balance and calmness they crave.