Harry Winks makes Tottenham request after Premier League return

Leicester midfielder Harry Winks is eyeing up a reunion with former club Tottenham on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

Spurs are set to learn their 2024/25 top-flight fixtures at 9am on Tuesday, June 18, having finished fifth during Ange Postecoglou‘s maiden campaign in charge. Spurs travelled to Brentford in their first game of last term, having kicked off the previous season with a home game against Southampton.

Ahead of next week’s fixture release day, clubs across the country have been using social media to build excitement. Newly promoted Leicester have asked a number of players who they would like to face first. The Foxes won promotion back to the Premier League after winning the Championship.

When Leicester asked Winks about his preferred opponent, the England international claimed he would want to take on Tottenham on the opening weekend. Ricardo Pereira and Mads Hermansen would like to face Chelsea, while Stephy Mavididi is hoping to go up against Arsenal.

Winks came through the youth system at Spurs and made his first-team debut in November 2014, coming on as a second-half substitute in the Europa League against Partizan Belgrade. That proved to be his only senior appearance that season as Mauricio Pochettino made the midfielder wait for more opportunities.

He didn’t get a regular chance in the Tottenham side until the start of the 2016/17 season when Pochettino gave Winks a run in the team. Winks scored on his first senior start in the Premier League against West Ham in November 2016 and he went on to make 33 appearances that campaign as Spurs finished second.

Winks got into his groove in 2017/18 when he starred in the Champions League against Real Madrid and became a regular part of the Tottenham starting XI. That continued throughout the next couple of years as Winks played an influential role in them reaching the Champions League final in 2019.

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However, his Tottenham career started to go stale under Jose Mourinho and then Nuno Espirito Santo before Antonio Conte didn’t use Winks as much as he would have liked. That saw Winks move to Sampdoria for the 2022/23 season before leaving to join Leicester on a permanent deal last summer.