Harry Winks and the Altering Milestones for Tottenham Hotspur's Young Hopefuls
Harry Winks will have to wait a little longer for the proper fulfillment of his latest career milestone.
The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was called up for his first England Under-21 squad but was an unused substitute in their exciting 3-2 friendly win over Italy (highlights below).
The challenge of breaking into an established side is one Winks is used to. The opportunity for recognition with England's Euro 2017 qualifiers has come as a result of his patient efforts furthering his part in Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino's plans.
Pochettino has overseen all of the significant moments of the 20-year-old's senior career up until now. Speaking after the player's involvement in the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen and ahead of the recent north London derby, he praised his young charge (not for the first time this season either).
"He's doing very well, not only against Leverkusen, against Liverpool in the cup and before," Pochettino said in his pre-match press conference of a player whose eight appearances so far this season has already surpassed his previous tallies.
The coach had left open the possibility his young charge was in contention to start at Arsenal in place of a doubtful Mousa Dembele. Contemplating the potential selection, the comparison was made with former Spurs academy man Ryan Mason's first Premier League start coming at the Emirates Stadium two years ago.
As it turned out, Dembele was fit and Winks did not start. Still, his late substitute appearance was the latest step in a journey he will hope sees him replicate and maybe, in the case of now-Hull City footballer Mason's and some others, better the Tottenham careers of past homegrown players.
Looking back at least as far as the inception of the Premier League era, it is interesting to see how the progression from youth team to senior squad has both changed and remained the same at Spurs.
Winks makes for a good comparison point in several respects.
He has been regarded as a promising talent but has not been burdened with the hype that accompanies a teenager rocketing into senior football straight away (think a Michael Owen or Wayne Rooney). Nor one whose more eye-catching abilities are quickly latched on to by excited fans, media and coaches (see Spurs' 17-year-old attacker Marcus Edwards).
A careful integration is rightly regarded by managers as the ideal method for youngsters. It covers the bases of giving them a taste of the experiences they aspire to and seeing how they handle it, as well as serving a practical function in that moment.
Winks' Tottenham debut was not the most propitious. It was a few minutes on as a replacement for Paulinho in a 1-0 Europa League win in 2014 over Partizan Belgrade most notable for a pitch invader disrupting play.
Compared to Sol Campbell scoring on his debut in a derby with Chelsea in 1992 or Ledley King making his bow vs. Liverpool at Anfield in 1999, it was low-key. But it was an opportunity all the same, and crucially Pochettino indicated his intention for more to follow (like them, Winks also had to be patient waiting for his next go).
"We have a lot of talent in the Academy," he told Tottenham's official website that night. "Our people work very hard in the Academy and it’s important for the club to use our talent.
"Tottenham identify with these players and it’s important to bring through players from the Academy. It’s always special, your debut. I know it was a special night for Harry."
The greater general potential of Spurs' academy products over the last few years has coincided with the club's consistent European involvement and a changing perception over priorities.
Campbell, King and other promising talents of the 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s—ranging from solid contributors such as Stephen Clemence and Stephen Kelly, to the less successful promotions of a Rory Allen or Lee Barnard—had to hope they were sufficiently rated and trusted to be utilised in domestic games.
When an option, European games were never completely off limits to such auditions. Going even further back, future Liverpool legend Graeme Souness's solitary Spurs appearance came against Keflavik in the early stages of their victorious 1971-72 UEFA Cup run.
But in recent years the Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup have been deemed more suitable for giving youngsters their initial chance.
With the squad being rotated already in accordance with the Premier League being the priority (and this season for Spurs, the Champions League too), it has been no surprise to see players such as Mason, Harry Kane, Andros Townsend and Josh Onomah debuting in these competitions. Cameron Carter-Vickers, Edwards and Anton Walkes all made theirs against Gillingham a couple of months ago in the EFL Cup too.
Like Winks, these new faces have additionally furthered their respective causes via good youth-team displays and encouraging work as part of the senior squad in pre-season.
Here has been the biggest departure from Pochettino's use of them to more recent predecessors like Harry Redknapp and, to a slightly lesser extent, Andre Villas-Boas. Though a Kane and a Townsend had these summertime experiences too (and also like Winks and some others coming through now also learned at junior levels with England), their main introduction to competing with adults came on loan.
Pochettino has preferred to keep close those he regards as most promising. Better him working on developing them than another manager who does not teach them in the right way and does not even guarantee playing time.
Pre-season offers valuable on-pitch get-to-know-you time with established first-teamers while the manager is able to coach his players unencumbered by pressures of the season. Friendlies do not replicate the intensity of consequential matches, but they serve as valuable practice preparing for or building on those first competitive minutes.
Winks followed up his debut against Partizan Belgrade with a fine showing against AC Milan at the Audi Cup in 2015. After another couple of Europa League tasters against Qarabag and Fiorentina last season, this past summer the late returns of players involved in Euro 2016 allowed him an even greater spotlight.
In the earlier-mentioned pre-Arsenal discussion of Winks, Pochettino highlighted the boost these International Champions Cup fixtures gave his credentials.
"And from the beginning, from the pre-season if you remember in Australia he played very well against Atletico Madrid and Juventus and in that moment start to build his future and start to see we can trust in him. That is very good for us, very good news for us."
At the time, this writer described Winks as "almost completely comfortable duelling with experienced performers such as Gabi and Tiago" in Spurs' loss to Atletico Madrid. "Active and energetic but sensible too, he covered a good distance linking up with his team-mates and was not easily bypassed by Atletico."
Such solid work has continued to be seen as Winks has rolled off more individual landmark moments.
His Premier League debut came in the season's third game as he came on late to help see out a 1-1 draw with Liverpool. Just under a month later he made his first full start, clearly relishing running the midfield alongside another academy man Tom Carroll as Spurs thrashed Gillingham.
Since then there have been three further Premier League appearances, including that first north London derby outing against Arsenal. He has also been deployed in the Champions League, the second time of which meant the England youth international running out at the national stadium and Spurs' temporary European venue Wembley Stadium.
As seen in his participation in the above re-creation of Dele Alli's 2015-16 "goal of the season" vs. Crystal Palace for BT Sport, Winks looks a player at home in this environment.
Pochettino's use of Winks has not been unfamiliar. Onomah, younger but a little more mature playing wise, went through much of this before him.
But off the back of his team-mate's similar progression into relative prominence, it is acting as a possible precedent for what we can expect with others coming through. Be that the precocious Edwards or versatile striker Shayon Harrison who made his own debut at Liverpool in the EFL Cup.
The next steps in Winks and Onomah's club journey could tell us just how much faith Pochettino has in Tottenham's young players. Or rather, just how important he regards developing them at a time he is trying to prove Spurs can be one of England's best teams.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
.jpg?w=480 "NFL Draft Football")
.jpg?w=600 "Fans React to Simpson Pick 😱")
.jpg?w=600 "McVay's Reaction to Ty Simpson Pick 😅")