Tottenham’s Harry Winks gets first senior England call

When Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad was announced, there were a few Spurs fans that were mildly disappointed that Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks wasn’t in consideration for his first senior call-up. Instead, Winksy landed with the U21s.

No longer! Thanks to the withdrawal of Phil Jones and Fabian Delph from the England squad due to injury, Winksy got called up to the Three Lions today and might even make his full England debut this coming week against Slovenia or Lithuania!

I’m on record as mostly hating the international break and the possibility of our best players getting injured, but this is really great news for Winks. He’s the kind of player who needs experiences like this and international minutes to improve his game, and getting that first call-up (and possibly first cap) is a major achievement. So I’m swallowing my curmudgeonly opinions on club-vs.-international-football and am just happy to see Winksy do well.

Winksy joins Tottenham teammates Harry Kane, Eric Dier, Dele Alli (though he’s suspended for one match) and Kieran Trippier on the England squad. Former Spurs players Jermain Defoe, Jake Livermore, and Kyle Walker are also on the squad.

I have no idea if Southgate will name him to the bench or give him his first cap, but it’s pretty neat to see Winksy get called up. Good for him! I hope he scores the goal that qualifies England for the World Cup. (Please don’t get injured!)