LIVE
...

Follow us on

News

Antonio Conte may have just unearthed his own Xavi at Tottenham – TBR View

Add as preferred source on Google

Spurs have appointed one of the best managers in world football this week, with Antonio Conte taking the Tottenham reins.

The north Londoners parted company with Nuno Espirito Santo and swiftly brought in the Italian as his replacement.

Conte has already got a win to his name, Spurs running out 3-2 winners over Vitesse in the Europa Conference League.

Tottenham Hotspur v Vitesse: Group A - UEFA Europa Conference League
Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images

And one Tottenham player who looked likely to move on next year may have just been handed the opportunity to kickstart his N17 career.

Harry Winks delivered a really impressive cameo for Spurs on Thursday.

The 25-year-old struggled for game time under Nuno this season, making just six appearances under the former Tottenham boss.

Worryingly, Winks didn’t even make the Carabao Cup squad for the win over Burnley, suggesting he was surplus to requirements at N17.

Indeed, there has been speculation linking him with a move away from Spurs in January.

The Times reported in early October that the England international wanted to go out on loan.

Tottenham Hotspur v NS Mura: Group B - UEFA Europa Conference League
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images

However, Winks’ performance against Vitesse got plenty of people talking.

Football.london gave him 7 out of 10 and wrote: “Back on the pitch as he came on to help see the game out with 18 minutes remaining.

“Played a very good ball over the top that culminated with Markus Schubert seeing red. Really good cameo from the player.

The Evening Standard also gave Winks 7 out of 10 and wrote: “Influential in Schubert’s red card after releasing Romero with a fine pass.

“Looked more confident on the ball than under Nuno.”

Spurs fans were happy with Winks too, making tongue-in-cheek comparisons between him and Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta:

Winks’ display will have certainly been food for thought for Conte as he looks to get Tottenham’s season back on track.

And if Conte can get the best out of Winks on a regular basis, he could very well have his own Xavi-type or Iniesta-type player at his disposal.