Mourinho can instantly improve two aspects of Spurs' game with one change in role - opinion

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks could play in a more advanced position for the club if his showings at international level are anything to go by.

On the chalkboard

Winks scored his first England goal over the weekend, netting in the 4-0 win over Kosovo.

The goal came after a run from deep and the midfielder subsequently passed the ball into the bottom corner.

Winks, of course, is known as a more disciplined, assiduous midfielder at Spurs.

Per WhoScored, he averages 0.6 shots per game in the Premier League, 0.7 key passes and 0.7 dribbles.

But, at international level, there’s a difference.

Often played alongside one of Declan Rice or Eric Dier, he is allowed to make more runs and take more risks.

Per SofaScore, he averages 0.3 shots per game and has yet to create a big chance. But he is more forward-thinking, averaging 109.7 touches and a passing accuracy of 94% in the opposition half.

He has also lost possession on an average of 8.3 times, suggesting that he attempts to take on defenders that little bit more often under Gareth Southgate – in the Premier League, he averages less than one unsuccessful touch or outright dispossession (being tackled) per game.

Another option for Mourinho

Spurs currently have Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Erik Lamela and Giovani Lo Celso who are all capable of playing as attacking midfielders, and one of Jose Mourinho’s most important selection calls will be deciding who fits in where.

But adding Winks into that mix could add some precision in the final third and another shield in front of a deeper-lying midfield paring. By nature, the 23-year-old is a more disciplined player than many of the above names and – in theory at least – would serve as the tip of a far more solid midfield triangle.

Moving Winks forward could also strengthen the club’s deeper engine room; Tanguy Ndombele, Moussa Sissoko and Eric Dier are all muscular, physical presences in the centre of the pitch, while Winks is lithe and wiry.

Shifting Winks’ role would have the two-pronged effect of potentially improving Spurs’ attack by providing a metronomic presence behind Harry Kane and strengthening their resistance to the opposition’s forays forward.

It would also give Spurs the chance to potentially even abandon the idea of using a No.10 and shifting to something approaching a 4-3-3 – the formation Mourinho used frequently during his first spell as Chelsea manager – with Winks as the more advanced of the midfielders.

Perhaps one international performance – against a Kosovo team that really didn’t put England under much pressure – isn’t much to go on for Mourinho to revise Winks’ role.

But the Three Lions midfielder has shown the option is there and after a disastrous start to the season that has left Spurs in 14th place, some lateral thinking could be required from the new man in the dugout.