Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy simply must dip into the transfer market after a major blow during the club’s 2-1 win over Norwich City in the Premier League on Tuesday evening.
Harry Winks has been a central figure in the club’s midfield in recent weeks, starting all three of the club’s last three games.
However, the club may now need to bring in a new midfielder before the close of January, after he was forced to hobble off in the victory over the Canaries.
Winks was substituted as a result of an injury in the 56th minute against Norwich and was replaced by Eric Dier. It has since been reported that Jose Mourinho hopes the England international will be out for weeks rather than months, telling a journalist: “It is not a crazy one – hopefully weeks and not months.”
But with Tanguy Ndombele struggling with injury woes of his own – he was in the squad against Norwich but not brought on to play – and Moussa Sissoko ruled out until April, even having Winks absent for a few weeks could prove incredibly costly.
Spurs are due to face Manchester City, RB Leipzig and Chelsea before the end of February. And if Mourinho’s initial verdict is wrong, there could be gaping holes in Spurs’ midfield for much longer than that.
There is Victor Wanyama but he looks as likely to leave the club as start a game, as is the case with Christian Eriksen.
And with the likes of Dele Alli and Erik Lamela already occupying more advanced midfield positions, that leaves just the aforementioned Dier – a utility player at best – and Giovanni Lo Celso to operate in Spurs’ double pivot.
Youngster Oliver Skipp could provide cover from the bench, but he’s yet to start a Premier League game this season and it seems unlikely Mourinho would buck that trend unless his hands were completely tied by another injury.
The January transfer window is open, though, and there is the chance to invest in the position.
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While there is a focus on their hunt for a striker with Harry Kane injured, a new midfielder could be just as important as Spurs wait on Winks to return to full fitness.
Levy needs to start looking for reinforcements, or Mourinho could end up short at critical periods of the campaign.
Meanwhile, Spurs have a new striker target!