Southampton have reportedly once again set their sights on a swoop for midfielder Harry Winks, who is set to leave Tottenham Hotspur this summer.
According to Daily Mail, Premier League club Southampton are keen on bringing the 26-year-old Harry Winks to St. Mary’s this summer as they look to continue bolstering their squad ahead of the 2022/23 season.
Contracted until the summer of 2024, Winks has already been told he is free to find a new club and leave the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer after failing to force his way into Antonio Conte’s plans.
The 26-year-old only made nine league starts and ten substitute appearances in the top flight under the Italian, who preferred Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Oliver Skipp ahead of him the last term. And now, with the arrival of Yves Bissouma from Brighton, Winks has fallen even further down the pecking order.
Winks came through the youth ranks at Tottenham and made his debut in 2014. He has since gone on to make 203 appearances for the club – 23 of those coming in the UEFA Champions League, including the 2019 Champions League final defeat to Liverpool.
He is amongst the quartet of first-team players alongside Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguy Ndombele, and Sergio Reguilon to be left out of the Tottenham squad for their summer pre-season tour to South Korea, hinting they are deemed surplus to requirements and are available on the market.
Despite the lack of minutes under his belt in the last couple of seasons, Winks has several suitors ready to offer him another chance to relaunch his flailing football career. Everton were understood to be the favourites to land the defensive midfielder on a short-term loan back in January, with Frank Lampard hoping to reunite Winks with his former teammate Dele Alli. But a move never materialized.
The Toffees still hold a significant interest in the player, but despite the sale of Richarlison, they are short of funds currently to make a permanent transfer feasible. Now, Southampton have emerged as another possible destination, and it also looks to be a great match for the 26-year-old, since there are parallels between Ralph Hasenhuttl and Mauricio Pochettino’s high-energy styles, in which Winks played his best football.
The English midfielder could be a good foil for James Ward-Prowse thanks to his mobility, athleticism, and passing accuracy. At 26, he is still in his prime and has a good few years left in him in the Premier League if he could reinvent himself on the south-coast.
That said, the Saints have already bolstered their midfield options by the additions of Romeo Lavia from Manchester City this summer, while the latest signing Joe Aribo is also a midfielder. So, it is highly unlikely that smart spenders Southampton would pay a premium price to secure Winks’s services unless there is some kind of loan arrangement that includes a buy option is in the works in discussions with Tottenham.