England have a very bright future in the midfield with Chelsea’s Ruben-Loftus Cheek and Tottenham’s Harry Winks.
Both men play in the same position, are the same age, 22, and have grown up through the academies of their clubs.
With that in mind, it makes it easy to match them up against each other. So let’s compare these two transfers…
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
After coming back from a good loan spell at Crystal Palace and a great World Cup with England, many people expected Loftus-Cheek to make a decent stab of making it into Maurizio Sarri’s first team at Chelsea.
So far, that has not gone to plan for the midfielder, but he has been hugely impressive whenever he has been given a chance. He has featured in three Premier League games and three Europa League games, scoring four goals in total, and is constantly knocking on the door to break into The Blues’ starting XI.
Despite this, there is no denying the talent and potential of the powerful midfielder, and there is not much doubt that he will be a mainstay in the Chelsea midfield for years to come. He has the ability to play as a defensive or attacking midfielder, with good playmaking abilities and will be an asset for England and Chelsea for many years to come.
TT Grade: A-
Harry Winks
Although it has been brief so far, Winks’ career has been quite interesting. For a number of seasons he had made short cameos and fleeting appearances, but it was only last season that Mauricio Pochettino put his trust in the midfielder, and it paid off.
A number of composed and commanding displays by the young man at the beginning of last season saw him work his way into the England squad. It looked as though he was going from strength to strength before an ankle injury cut his season short and ruined his chances of a World Cup place.
Nonetheless, he has returned this season and is slowly working his way back into form, as he looks to be the heir apparent to Mousa Dembélé in the heart of the field for The Lilywhites.
TT Grade: A
TT Verdict:
Although Loftus-Cheek has more England caps than Winks, that may be down to the Spurs man’s injury problems more than anything. Likewise, the fact that Winks is playing more regularly in the Premier League may be down to the fact that Chelsea have better competition in the midfield.
But Winks has pulled off some brilliant performances in recent seasons against the highest of competition, which suggests the level he is capable at, and is why he wins this battle.
