Aston Villa would’ve reportedly had to pay around £40m to secure reported transfer target Harry Winks this summer, as reported by The Times.

The Lowdown: Winks on the periphery at Spurs so far this season

The 25-year-old has been on the periphery at Spurs this season, with two of his four appearances coming in the UEFA Conference League qualifiers [Transfermarkt].

Trailing the likes of Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Giovani Lo Celso in the midfield pecking order, could it be time for the England international to move on for the good of his career?

The Latest: Tottenham wanted £40m to sanction Winks' departure

Of course, there was previous interest in Winks over the summer months, with Everton and Aston Villa both keen on his services [The Times].

However, it has now emerged that the north Londoners wanted to receive a sum of around £40m to part ways with their academy graduate, eventually putting off prospective suitors from making a move.

The Verdict: Right decision not to spend big money on Winks

All things considered, avoiding spending quite an extensive outlay on someone like Winks was the right decision by the Aston Villa hierarchy.

Dean Smith already has excellent midfield options at his disposal such as John McGinn, Douglas Luiz and Morgan Sanson, even though Winks is a talented player himself when at his best.

Capable of rotating the ball with ease, he managed to record an impressive passing accuracy of 84.9% across the 2020/21 Premier League [WhoScored]. He also showed his desire to get stuck into the opposition, making 60 successful ball recoveries across the campaign [Premier League], while he was dubbed 'amazing' by his former boss Mauricio Pochettino back in 2019.

Should Winks be available for a more modest fee in upcoming windows, he may be a name worthy of consideration, but £40m seemed that bit steep considering that the prolific Ollie Watkins cost £28m.

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