Jose Mourinho has made some bold selections during his time at Tottenham Hotspur.
The Portuguese is building the squad he wants and the club invested significantly in the summer transfer window.
The likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Matt Doherty, and Gareth Bale, on loan, have arrived at the club and Spurs have benefitted from the signings thus far this season.
They are currently top of the Premier League table ahead of Sunday’s north London derby against Arsenal.
However, there have been some casualties too.
Along with Dele Alli, Harry Winks has been frozen out by the Portuguese, and has made just four Premier League appearances.
Three of those have been starts, coming in the first three games of the campaign, but since then, he has played 17 minutes against West Ham United and not another minute since.
He was left out of the squad entirely for the games against Burnley, West Bromwich Albion, Manchester City, and Chelsea, and was on the bench against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Winks, who is valued at £25.2m by Transfermarkt, has been used primarily in the Europa League instead, scoring an inadvertent wonder goal against Ludogorets from very near the halfway line.
The Daily Mirror reports that the England international may have to leave the club in the January transfer window as he looks to rescue his place in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the European Championships.
They claim that Southgate is a huge admirer of his talents, but he has made it clear that players must be in their club teams week in, week out to be considered for selection.
The 24-year-old is said to be frustrated by the situation, especially as he was a huge player under Mauricio Pochettino.
Indeed, he even captained the team at times under the Argentine but he could now seek an exit, with the Mirror claiming there are a number of clubs interested.
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
This is a bit of a shame for Winks.
He is a Spurs fan and has been with the club since the age of five.
Since his first-team debut in 2016, he has made 153 appearances for Spurs, scoring three goals, but he just hasn’t had much of a look-in under Mourinho.
Hojbjerg is a more solid midfield option, while Tanguy Ndombele is far more dynamic and Giovani Lo Celso offers more in the final third.
It means Winks has become nothing more than a squad option and that will not do if he believes he can play for England at this summer’s tournament.
A difficult farewell could be in order.