Manchester City are reportedly lining up a £40 million swoop for Tottenham Hotspur midfield ace Harry Winks in the ongoing transfer window.
According to a report from The Sun, Manchester City are considering raiding Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur, for the signing of English midfielder Harry Winks.
The 24-year-old came through the youth ranks at Tottenham and broke into the senior team in August 2016 in a Premier League game against Liverpool. Since then, he has grown into a key member of the setup at the North London club. Winks, so far, has made 143 first-team appearances for the club, scoring two goals in the process.
This past season saw the 24-year-old feature with utmost regularity, racking up 41 appearances across all competitions. Winks missed just two of Tottenham’s Premier League matches since the turn of the year, and even captained the side once, indicating his standing within the team.
Winks signed a new contract with Tottenham last year, extending his stay at the club till the summer of 2024. While he was a permanent fixture for most part of the 2019/20 campaign, the recent acquisition of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg might cast doubts over his standing as a first-choice under Jose Mourinho.
And now, Manchester City are prepared to test Spurs’ resolve with an offer of around £40 million for the six-time capped England international. As things stand, the 2019/20 Premier League runners-up have ample options in the middle of the park, even though David Silva’s time at the club is drawing to a close.
Pep Guardiola has the likes of Fernandinho, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne at his disposal, while Phil Foden is also expected to play a much bigger role from the upcoming campaign. However, the report states that Guardiola is a huge admirer of Winks and is intrigued by the prospect of helping him realise his full potential.
Tottenham are in a tricky position heading into the transfer window. With limited budget at Mourinho’s disposal, the Portuguese needs to offload some of his current players in order to build a team in his own image. However, selling someone like Winks, who is a regular in the side, to a direct top six rival, might not be the most prudent of choices.
Manchester City had been linked with a move for Winks back in the January transfer window as well. It will be interesting to see if they do make an attempt to land the Tottenham academy graduate before the transfer window shuts in October.