Manchester United are reportedly interested in signing midfielder Harry Winks, who has rebuilt his career at Leicester City after leaving Tottenham in the summer of 2023.
The 28-year-old England international, who has won 10 caps for his country, has been a mainstay of the Foxes midfield since his £10million move to the King Power Stadium after Leicester were relegated during the 2022/23 campaign.
Winks played a major role as the East Midlands outfit bounced straight back to the Premier League under Enzo Maresca, scoring twice in 48 appearances in all competitions.
The former Spurs man continues to be a key cog in Steve Cooper’s engine room after Maresca quit Leicester for Chelsea, although the pressure is mounting on the current Foxes boss after a tough start to the new season.
For Winks though, his stock is back on the rise again and Spanish publication Fijaches suggests that United are weighing up a move for the player in January as Ten Hag is keen to bring in another midfielder.
The Fijaches report claims that Ten Hag believes that Winks would be a great fit for the style of play at Old Trafford, while he would also be a relatively cheap option for sporting director Dan Ashworth to pursue.
The midfielder’s current contract runs out in the summer of 2026 and although that means Leicester could push for a significant fee for his services, they are only likely to recoup what they paid.
Winks does have the ability to play several different midfield roles and is as comfortable pushing forward as a No.10 as he is sitting in front of the defence as the midfield pivot.
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Winks no more than a solid Man Utd backup option
The best Winks could hope for if he does move to Old Trafford in the new year would be as a bench warmer, given the player’s currently in United’s midfield.
Manuel Ugarte was signed in a £43m switch from PSG over the summer to play the holding role when is eventually up to full speed.
If anything Winks would be more of a Kobbie Mainoo alternative as he is similar in style to the United No.8, with a decent burst of pace and strong technical ability.
Winks made his Tottenham debut almost a decade ago when he featured in a Europa League group against FK Partizan and went on to make 203 appearances for the club.
After struggling for game time under Antonio Conte he was loaned out to Sampdoria during the 2022/23 campaign but after the Italian outfit were relegated they decided against a permanent deal.
Ange Postecoglou’s arrival could have signalled an upturn in Winks’ fortunes in north London, given that he’s the type of all-action midfielder the Australian likes. However, he was jettisoned to Leicester soon after and has enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance at the King Power.
Ten Hag on board with Barella plan as Scholes takes Dutchman to task
In other United news, Erik ten Hag is fully on board with Dan Ashworth’s plans to sign Nicolo Barella and has been convinced to ditch long-standing interest in Frenkie de Jong as a result – while the bumper contract offer reportedly on offer to the Inter Milan star has come to light.
Meanwhile, Ten Hag has once again been accused of wasting United’s transfer money after Paul Scholes explained why Matthijs de Ligt is no better than Harry Maguire – while the pundit has also hit out at the way the Red Devils boss embeds his new signings into the side.
De Ligt was rested for Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw with FC Twente but had played in all six of United’s matches prior to that, but Scholes is not convinced by what he has seen.
IN FOCUS – Last five England internationals signed by Man Utd
In the unlikely event that Winks does indeed move to Old Trafford, there’s a worrying trend when it comes to United and buying full England internationals – in terms of how successful they have been with the Red Devils.
Mason Mount (2023)
As he approached the final year of his Chelsea contract, there was widespread speculation about where Mount would go next. Man Utd ultimately won the race to sign him in a £55m deal.
However, injuries have overshadowed the midfielder’s spell so far at Old Trafford and, despite previously playing 36 times for his country, he has not been capped by England yet whilst a Man Utd player.
Jack Butland (2023)
Man Utd needed a new backup goalkeeper in January 2023 when Martin Dubravka was recalled by Newcastle. Up stepped Jack Butland, who joined on loan from Crystal Palace. However, first-choice David de Gea played in every game that followed that season, and Butland moved on to Rangers – where he has thrived as a no.1 – by the end of it.
Jadon Sancho (2021)
United’s pursuit of Sancho was certainly protracted, but they eventually got their man in July 2021. Sadly, his form since has not exactly justified the time and effort his current club put into signing him.
Sancho only scored 12 goals from 82 games before a fall-out with Erik ten Hag, which led to him being loaned back to Borussia Dortmund two-and-a-half years after his move. They patched up their differences this summer, leading to one extra United appearance for the winger, but he is now on loan at Chelsea.
Tom Heaton (2021)
A product of Man Utd’s academy, Chester-born Heaton never played for the first team before embarking on a career including spells with the likes of Cardiff City, Bristol City, Burnley and Aston Villa.
During his time at Burnley, Heaton earned three England caps, but he dropped down the pecking order for club and country and was only a half-regular for Villa too. United promptly brought him back in 2021 to act as goalkeeping cover, and he has made three cup appearances for the club since.
Harry Maguire (2019)
Maguire was one of the Premier League’s most in-demand centre-backs in 2019 thanks to his rise to prominence at Leicester City, and with England at the previous year’s World Cup. So great was United’s desire to win the race for his signature that they forked out a world-record fee for a defender to prise him away from a notoriously tough Leicester.
Maguire initially settled in well at Man Utd and became their captain, but Ten Hag decided to remove that title from him after the pressure became too much. In fairness, despite often being linked with a move away, Maguire has since stabilised his United career.
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