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Harry Winks was the “main man” for Tottenham Hotspur against Liverpool, according to Jamie Redknapp – who noted how the midfielder performed better than he had under Nuno Espirito Santo or Jose Mourinho.

Academy graduate Winks has become a divisive player for the Tottenham faithful in recent years. Despite his connection to the club, some feel his standards have slipped below the requirements.

A first-team player since 2014, Winks became an England international but has stagnated. Last season, he only played in 15 Premier League matches, less than half his tally from the previous year.

The idea of Winks leaving has taken root. He has been linked with the likes of Newcastle, Aston Villa and Everton.

But Tottenham still have him under contract until 2024. Whether they could be having second thoughts about him remains unclear, but he did himself no harm with his performance against Liverpool.

Spurs shared the points with their visitors after a frantic 2-2 draw. It was a game of many talking points, mainly revolving around the refereeing.

Winks was up to the intensity of the match and made a challenge on Naby Keita to inspire Tottenham’s opening goal.

It did not go unnoticed by Redknapp, who observed positive aspects from both sides of his game to an extent greater than seen under Antonio Conte’s predecessors.

The pundit told Sky Sports: “The other big part in that goal that we haven’t mentioned really is Harry Winks’ role.

“There’s certain times in a game a tackle sets the tempo. He wins that ball from Keita. The way that Harry Winks goes and wins it, this is exactly what you need.

“It gets the crowd up; all of a sudden there’s a little bit of pace, there’s a bit of energy.

“If Harry Winks doesn’t win that tackle, all of a sudden, you get countered. And that was why it was so important.

“And today, I thought his passing, the way he intercepted the ball, Harry Winks – because he’s not really been a favourite for Nuno, for Jose – today, I thought he was their main man in there. He did a great job in so many different aspects.”

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Another player brought in from the cold against Liverpool was Dele Alli. He was making his first Premier League start since Conte took charge.

He too has suffered a fall from grace in recent seasons. But he made a decent impression against Liverpool.

Before the game, though, Alli was reminded why it may be prudent to leave Tottenham.

“I saw him as a young guy making his full debut for England and scoring,” Alex McLeish told Football Insider.

“He scored the most amazing goal and I thought: ‘This kid, making all these runs from midfield.’

“Then, all of a sudden, you’re thinking: ‘What the hell happened? How can he possibly lose that talent and those skills he had?’

“That’s a mystery in itself. Over my years of experience in football, I’ve seen a lot of young guys come through. They have a spectacular one or two seasons and then they plateau.

“They can’t maintain the competition they had carried in the couple of years before. It’ll be great for Dele Alli to leave, I think. He has to try resurrect his career.”

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