---
title: "Tottenham Hotspur: Harry Winks could battle Declan Rice for England spot, says Darren Bent"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/tottenham-hotspur-harry-winks-could-battle-declan-rice-for-england-spot-says-darren-bent/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Stephan Georgiou"
section: "Features"
published: "2019-09-12T14:15:43Z"
modified: "2019-09-12T14:15:43Z"
---

# Tottenham Hotspur: Harry Winks could battle Declan Rice for England spot, says Darren Bent

**Former Spurs striker Darren Bent believes that midfielder Harry Winks could be locked into a battle for a holding role in the England lineup with West Ham United’s Declan Rice.**

Winks and Rice were both [called up](https://www.thefa.com/news/2019/aug/29/england-squad-named-to-play-bulgaria-and-kosovo-290819) ahead of the qualifying matches against [Bulgaria](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49533275) and [Kosovo](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49560020), and it was the West Ham midfielder that was selected to start on both occasions, with Winks spending each match warming the substitutes’ bench.

However, Bent feels that amidst a plethora of options in attacking-midfield roles, both players are of a calibre to battle it out for a deeper role in the England midfield for years to come.

Speaking to [Football Insider](https://www.footballinsider247.com/exclusive-darren-bent-suggests-advantage-spurs-star-in-long-term-battle-with-west-ham-fave/), he said: “At the moment, that role \[in holding midfield\] seems made for Rice.

“One player I almost forgot about is Harry Winks. It’s going to be really interesting to see who gets the nod out of them two because I think technically, Harry Winks is a little bit better in his passing, a little bit crisper.

“I can see them two having a battle for that position for the next few years. We’ve got so many attacking options in Dele Alli, Mason Mount, \[Jordan\] Henderson, \[Ross\] Barkley, people like Jack Grealish. When you look at holders there aren’t that many about. I think Declan Rice and Harry Winks could be having battle for a long time.”

Bent may well have reasons to suggest that there is not too much to choose between Winks and Rice – despite their passing statistics forming a mixed picture.

According to WhoScored, [Winks](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/143990/Show/Harry-Winks) has a higher percentage of successful passes out of the two in the Premier League – with his rate of 94% comfortably above [Rice’s](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/332325/Show/Declan-Rice) 83.6%.

However, during the international break, Rice top-scored amongst the England team with a [96.9% success rate](https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1341277/LiveStatistics/International-European-Championship-2019-England-Bulgaria) against Bulgaria, while his total of [92%](https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1341278/LiveStatistics/International-European-Championship-2019-England-Kosovo) against Kosovo was only bettered by Harry Maguire and Jadon Sancho – though both scores are markedly higher than his Premier League passing rate.

Both players have therefore demonstrated a strength in their passing, and perhaps the quality of their club teams plays a role in the sizeable gap between their passing performances in the league.

Though given that has evidently not harmed Rice’s chances of a starting place, perhaps they will be fighting it out for the defensive-midfield position after all.

***Tottenham fans – does Winks warrant a starting place for England? Let us know by joining the discussion below!***