Harry Winks: My journey - a special interview

A million miles away from the pressure cooker of the Premier League, Harry Winks has swapped his Spurs kit for a BOSS suit, the flying studs of the midfield battleground for a comfy sofa and a football for a dictaphone.

As ever the young gentleman, he’s accommodating, polite, relaxed and wearing a look from the ‘Create Your Look’ line by BOSS. Football is his life, he’s in form and derby day is close.

We’re talking about his journey from five-year-old starlet to Spurs regular and England international, from the playground to Wembley, the Bernabeu and the Nou Camp, from Academy to Champions League.

His eyes light up as we mention a milestone is approaching - 100 appearances for the Club - and it really does mean the world to him.

“I remember my debut in 2014, it’s been a long journey but it’s gone so fast,” said 'Winksy', who is now up to 98 appearances. “To play 100 times for Tottenham is a milestone I’ll be delighted to achieve and hopefully this journey will go on and on.

“It will be a special day for me and my family. To come from the Academy at five, go through the whole process and play 100 times for the Club will be an incredible milestone to achieve.

“Hopefully it’s just the start as well. Anyway, I’ve got to get to 100 first! It’s been an incredible journey, I’ve loved every minute and hopefully there are many, many more milestones to come.

“When you are younger, just to play one game for Spurs is like ‘wow, I’ve played for Spurs, that’s incredible’ but now you look back at all the games so far, the away trips, playing in the Champions League... it’s been incredible.”

It’s even more incredible considering the bumps along the way. Winksy made his debut off the bench aged 18 against Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League in November, 2014. He remained on the fringes in 2015/16 when he added another couple of substitute appearances in Europe against Qarabag and Fiorentina before his breakthrough campaign in 2016/17.

After an impressive pre-season campaign in the summer of 2016, he made his Premier League debut as a late substitute against Liverpool on 27 August, 2016 and earned his first senior start in the 5-0 home win over Gillingham in the EFL Cup the following month. In November, 2016, he scored on his first Premier League start in a dramatic 3-2 home win over London rivals West Ham. Now fully ensconced in the squad, he had made 33 appearances in all competitions before disaster struck at Burnley on 1 April, 2017 and a serious ankle injury that ended his season.

He worked overtime to be ready for the start of 2017/18 and was rewarded with memorable performances in the Champions League against Real Madrid home and away and away to Borussia Dortmund, starting all three as we won the group and qualified for the knockout stage of the competition. His performances caught the eye of England boss Gareth Southgate and he earned his England debut in November, 2017.

However, ankle issues surfaced again and he played his final match of the season in the FA Cup at Rochdale on 28 February.

Once again, Winksy found himself at Hotspur Way during the summer, watching from afar as England reached the semi-finals of the World Cup. What might have been? He'll never know...

How did he deal with those darker days? “When you look back you realise the different stages you have to go through, the questions you ask yourself,” reflected Harry. “Will I be okay? Will I feel okay out on the pitch again? Will my ankle hold up? Can I get back to the same level?

“Those are the questions you ask but the important thing is not to dwell on them because that can affect your football. So for me, it was about taking it day by day in training, getting fitter, getting stronger and working on what I can affect and going from there. It was important to stay positive.

“Of course, there were spells when I was down and I had moments that were tough to get through but like I said, it’s when you hit the lows that you realise how good the highs are.

“I’ve got fantastic coaches and team-mates around me who give the advice and positivity that you need at the time but most importantly, it has to come from you. You are the one spending 18 hours a day dwelling on it. You have to pull yourself out of that and when you have a good team of people, family and friends around you, it makes it that little easier.”

Now he's back, and then some. Better than ever. And the numbers are stacking up to prove it. Winksy made 33 appearances before that first ankle injury in 2016/17 but only 25 between 1 April, 2017 and 2 September, 2018, when he returned from his second spell on the sidelines at Watford earlier this season.

The desire he showed in 10 minutes off the bench albeit in defeat that day at Vicarage Road showed he was ready and he hasn't looked back since - 36 appearances now in 2018/19 and a string of outstanding displays including bossing the midfield in a memorable 3-0 win against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League Round of 16, first leg.

“I’m in a good place at the moment,” said Harry. “It’s been a difficult couple of seasons for me with injuries… yes, tough in that respect… so to be fit, playing well and be in amongst the side, playing the amount of games I’ve played is something I’ve always aimed for since I came back from injury.

“I feel good, feel strong. I knew it was going to be a difficult period getting back to full fitness and back into the team because I was out for so long. To get to where I’ve got to so far I’ve had to sacrifice a lot but I was more than happy to sacrifice holidays and time off to be able to get myself back to where I want to be which is now, playing and feeling fit and fresh.”

At the age of 23, Moussa Sissoko reckons his partner in crime in central midfield could be a ‘superstar’ at Spurs. So how did this kid from Hemel Hempstead, now wearing the iconic number eight, see his future? What’s next for Harry Winks?

“I want to go to the next level and to do that, I need to continue playing in the team and continue putting in the performances,” he said. “I want to score more goals and be involved in more goals but the most important thing is to play as much as I can.

“I’ve missed a lot of football over the last couple of years and it’s nice to be out there, especially coming off the pitch after a win, seeing the fans, you go home and there is that sense of pride. That’s what it’s all about. I’m ambitious and I want to keep achieving at Spurs.”

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