Times: Harry Winks wants a January loan away from Tottenham

We just passed into the month of October, which means it’s officially time for January transfer rumors to start emerging from the murk of Bat Country like miasmatic bubbles from a fetid woodland pond. Here’s one that might make a certain segment of our readers pretty darn happy — the Times of London is writing that Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks is pushing for a loan away from the club in January in order to secure more first team football.

Spurs should probably let him go.

You might remember that Winks was at least nominally linked with a transfer out of the club this past summer when it started to become clear that he wasn’t likely to get the minutes at Spurs that he wanted. The Times notes that Winksy got interest from Aston Villa, Brighton, and Everton, but that none of those moves ultimately materialized for reasons that we can only guess at. The article is behind a paywall but doesn’t really give any indication where Winksy might land should he get his move in 2022 except that he’s open to “a move abroad.”

It’s absolutely not a secret what I (and most of the masthead) thinks about Winksy and his prospects within this Tottenham team, but in all honesty this makes sense for everyone. Winks clearly believes he can be a first team contributor for a club at a high level, but after playing just 150 total minutes in all competitions so far this season he must see that the writing is on the wall for him under Nuno Espirito Santo. He’s behind all of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp, Tanguy Ndombele, Dele, and Giovani Lo Celso as central midfield options. If he wants game time, he’s going to have to seek it away from his childhood club.

I kinda think that Winksy could actually excel in a system or a league that’s maybe a touch slower that would give him more time on the ball in midfield. A loan to a decent Serie A or La Liga club could be a very good landing place for him, for example. It’s not clear whether he’d like to stay in England, but we do know that he rejected moves away this summer because he wanted to fight for his place.

I don’t hate Winks as a person or want him to fail. Nor will I be mean and post “Well... bye” memes after reading this rumor, but it’s been clear for a while now that it’s not working out for him at Spurs. A temporary loan away could be the catalyst for him to secure a more permanent move this coming summer where he can jump-start his career, or perhaps he picks up a few things elsewhere, smashes it in Italy or wherever, and uses the loan as a springboard to force Tottenham to take notice again. Either way, it’s better than him rotting on the bench or in meaningless Europa Conference League matches.