Gary Neville has stated that he feels Harry Winks may be “better suited” to international football than club football despite impressing for Leicester, as he hinted that Thomas Tuchel should bring him back for England.
Since Winks last played international football, 1428 days have passed. He assisted in a 4-0 victory over Iceland on what would be his last England appearance.
Since then, the 28-year-old has headed out on loan to Sampdoria, made a permanent move to the Championship with Leicester, got promoted as a champion, and begun impressing in the top flight with the Foxes.
Winks has assisted twice in the Premier League this season, and both scored and assisted in a 4-0 in over Tranmere Rovers in the League Cup.
In his last game, Winks assisted Jamie Vardy’s Leicester opener in a 3-1 loss to Nottingham Forest, linking play from around the half-way line with multiple team-mates, before breaking into a crossing position and finding the striker’s outstretched boot.
After the game, Neville hinted that Tuchel should look to bring him back into the England fold, such is his suitability for the international stage.
“He was absolutely outstanding – this typified his first half. A little pass around the corner, Harry Winks is a player who you think could play at international level. I know he has played at international level,” Neville said on Sky Sports.
“But I look at him and think England lack a player who can get us playing. And he is very good at that. He might be better suited to international football actually than club football. He was outstanding in the first half.”
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Neville did feel Winks is capable of having had a tighter grip on the loss than he did, though.
“But what he has to do in the second half, when it’s more difficult for him, is he has to still get on the ball and dominate the game – that’s what the best players do in that position. He got nullified in the second half and that was the turning point in the game because Forest had to tighten up,” he said.
In any case, if he is to return to England’s squad, it would be a great story given where he has been since he last played.
READ MORE: England: Neville names two Tuchel alternatives he’d ‘have gone for’ despite one Scholes concern
