Harry Winks is firmly on the radar of England boss Gareth Southgate despite missing out on selection for the forthcoming matches with Germany and Lithuania.
The Tottenham midfielder had been tipped for a first call-up to the full England squad after some impressive performances in 2017, but has instead been named in the Under-21 group for the meetings with Germany and Denmark.
Yet Standard Sport understands Southgate is very impressed by Winks, who has caught the eye with some composed performances for his club this term.
Even though he has started only two Premier League matches, Winks has gained the trust of Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, making 32 appearances in 2016-17. When Mousa Dembele, one of Spurs’ most important players, is unavailable, Winks is now first choice to replace him.
Winks has shown an ability to take his chances: he played well as Spurs were knocked out of the Champions League with a 2-1 defeat at Monaco last November, having scored his first goal for the club in a 3-2 win over West Ham the previous weekend.
He is also adept at making an impact after coming on as a substitute. In the recent 3-2 win over Everton, Winks created the decisive goal for Dele Alli with a quickly-taken free-kick.
In Pictures | Tottenham vs Southampton | 19/03/2017
Winks is a product of the Tottenham academy who was quickly asked to train with the first-team squad after Pochettino took over at White Hart Lane in May 2014.
Though he has yet to establish himself as a significant force in the first team, Spurs are confident Winks, 21, can follow in the footsteps of Ledley King and Harry Kane – the last two homegrown players to become key men for the club.
