Leicester City playmaker James Maddison has showered praise on Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks, saying he is one of the best in the Premier League in terms of poking holes in a packed defence.
Maddison, who is valued at £80m and is a reported target of Manchester United, is arguably one of the best creative attacking playmakers in the Premier League. He is blown away with the quality of Winks when Spurs travelled to the King Power Stadium last month. He said to Sky Sports:
“If you’re not sliding across quick enough to shut those passing lines, players will just play it through. Who’s the best at getting it through? Jorginho is very good at it. Harry Winks is another good example, a very good passer of the ball.
“The job against Spurs was to get into a narrow three, force it wide, stop the danger players getting it through the lines. When we were doing that quite well against Spurs, Harry Winks could get it through, with a quick two-touch wrap pass. That’s the quality of opposition we play against. There isn’t a moment where you can switch off.”
The 23-year-old is a fantastic young midfielder whose rapid growth probably has been hampered a bit through recurrent injuries. Still, he has the age on his side to establish himself as a world-class midfielder.
Winks is a complete central midfielder. He is technically very sound, reads the game well, and is very good with his passing.
When asked to play in the holding midfield role, he plays safe, keeps his game simple as plays the role of a conservative passer. He keeps the game tight and focusses on retaining possession.
He is equally good in creating gaps from a packed defence whenever he is given the freedom to expand his game.
Maddison’s words suggest he rates Winks highly. Winks is already a regular starter under Mauricio Pochettino, and it remains to be seen whether he can take his game to the next level in years to come.
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