Leicester City are reportedly in talks with Tottenham Hotspur over bringing Harry Winks to the King Power Stadium as Enzo Maresca’s first signing.
The Engishman has come to a crossroads in north London in the past few years and he was sent out on loan to Sampdoria last term in a bid to try and resuscitate his career.
His last two years at Spurs saw his stock plummet. Since the end of the 2019-20 season, Winks has only played 34 matches of Premier League football. Jose Mourinho lost faith in him and he wasn’t really able to impress Nuno Espirito Santo or Antonio Conte. It has been clear for a while that the player has become surplus to requirements in N17.
It’s quite surprising to see how quickly he dropped off because it was only five years ago that the midfielder looked a shoo-in for England’s World Cup squad in Russia after he impressed in qualifying. In the Three Lions’ 1-0 victory over Lithuania he was lauded as the best player on the pitch, now there are so many players ahead of him in the pecking order for Gareth Southgate’s squad.
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Winks seemed to make an impression in Italy in 2022-23 and it is believed that Sampdoria would have liked to have retained his services had it not been for their despondent financial situation. Now it appears as though the Foxes are stepping in to give Winks a lifeline in English football.
Maresca has been tasked with guiding Leicester’s bid to return to the Premier League and his first job is to build a squad that is capable of fulfilling the brief. As he waits for the sales of stars such as James Maddison and Harvey Barnes to be sorted, the Italian is pressing on with his own business.
With a vast history in Italy as a player and a coach, the former Sampdoria midfielder has likely been given a detailed report of Winks’ time in his homeland and feels that he has the skills needed to energise Leicester’s midfield and aid in the promotion push.
A possible transfer fee is yet to be reported but this looks to be a good move for both parties. Leicester would be receiving a player with a point to prove and have a coach who knows just what it takes to excel as a midfielder at the highest level. Winks himself will get a new environment that will involve fresh ideas and perhaps a change of pace to what he grew accustomed to at a stagnating Tottenham over the years.
He gave a glimpse in Italy that he can get back to the energetic midfielder that made him a Spurs regular, and Maresca feels that he can help him get back to his very best in the East Midlands. Maresca is highly regarded as a coach and if anyone can instil some confidence back into Winks’ play it’s him.
The Italian coach’s fascination with the similarities between chess and football could see Winks’ mind broadened to the demands of a midfielder. He has never set foot in the Championship which could lead to an adjustment to the physicality of the second tier. But with his experience and the coaching he will receive from Maresca, there’s a good chance he could take to the division like a duck to water and become one of the signings of the season.
Both Leicester and Winks are in need of a fresh start and they could each offer that to one another.
