The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was brilliant when he came on.
Tottenham Hotspur headed to Russia this week knowing a victory against CSKA Moscow was vital after losing their opening Champions League group match against AS Monaco earlier this month.
When the goal came – courtesy of the in-form Heung-min Son – all Spurs had to do was hold out, but with the Russians pushing for an equaliser the North London club looked unsurprisingly edgy. After all, this was a huge three points that would go a long way to putting their European campaign back on track.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino had a relatively young bench after a number of senior stars were left at home; however it was still surprising to see him turn to Harry Winks – a player with just six previous first-team matches under his belt.
What could have been a risk quickly turned into a masterstroke, with Winks’ arrival immediately calming his teammates and ensuring it was a relatively easy final few minutes.
That cameo from the 20-year-old spoke volumes for his talent, and proved to those with any doubts that Winks is yet another Tottenham star in the making.
He still has a long way to go, but when he is being thrown on in crucial European games to calm the nerves of his far more experienced teammates, that says it all.
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