After Tottenham Hotspur's mixed form since the restart, questions have once again been raised as to whether Jose Mourinho knows his best Spurs side.
The three-time Premier League-winning coach has had an almost fully fit squad available to him since the Premier League restarted last month, however, Tottenham's form has been patchy with two unconvincing wins, one draw and one ignominious defeat.
And one area which needs surgery is the Spurs midfield.
A double pivot of Moussa Sissoko and Giovani Lo Celso started the defeat at Sheffield United; the same duo who performed so well in their 2-0 victory over West Ham United.
Harry Winks, meanwhile, started in Lo Celso’s place on Spurs’ return to Premier League action against Manchester United and he was paired with Sissoko once more for the 1-0 win over Everton.
Spurs’ worrying inability to create from deep in the fixtures prior to the Everton win had hinted at Winks' involvement and he backed up his inclusion with an effective display to further his first-team claims.
As per FBRef.com, Winks completes the most progressive passes per 90 in Mourinho’s Spurs side.
Despite his style lacking a real thrill-factor, he is efficient, a safe distributor and picks his moments to progress play carefully.
In this team, that must not go underappreciated.
Winks’ inclusion would also give Mourinho a welcome selection headache with regards to his attacking players.
Pushing Lo Celso further forward into a No.10 role against Everton led to his role in the only goal of the game as his shot was turned into his own net by Michael Keane - and his continued inclusion in a more advanced role would enable him to thread passes into the penalty area, something which he became so effective at doing at Real Betis.
Heung-min Son and Steven Bergwijn possess the dynamism to be able to latch onto through balls in behind, but with Lo Celso in a deeper, more conservative role that hinders Spurs’ chance creation.
If Winks were involved, though, he could be the man supplying the supplier.
Mourinho has been quick to castigate Tanguy Ndombele who can progress play with the ball at his feet; it would be a mistake for him to omit Winks too, as it would severely limit the team’s ball-progression capabilities.
