Holding midfield or more advanced? Where is Harry Winks’ best midfield position?

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Harry Winks and Declan Rice are thought to be in competition for the same holding midfield spot in the England side which is heading to Euro 2020 as a seeded side.

But Gareth Southgate fielded the pair alongside each other for the first time yesterday, with Winks operating in a more advanced role in the 4-3-3.

Winks rewarded his manager with his first international goal, opening the scoring on an evening where he impressed more than Rice, who he will likely face on Saturday in the Premier League.

And it also throws up a question over which is Winks’ best position; as the sole midfield pivot or with more creative freedom?

TBR’s View – Winks is still better as the holding player

Winks, 23, showed his superior technical ability compared to Rice and did seem to enjoy the chance to burst forward but his best moments were still in tight areas on the half turn.

That makes him ideal to anchor the midfield in a side which still needs work in terms of playing out from the back and getting forward.

He scored against Kosovo but won’t score enough to justify that role in a side which already looks set to have the reasonably cautious Jordan Henderson operating in one of its box-to-box roles.

And Tanguy Ndombele and Moussa Sissoko are better suited to those rampaging roles at Spurs, with Winks coming short to get the ball and keeping the team ticking over.