Harry Winks could leave Tottenham Hotspur this January...

What's the word?

According to The Times, the 25-year-old midfielder is keen to depart his boyhood club on loan in a bid to reignite his career, having played only 61 minutes in the Premier League this term.

He chose not to pursue an exit during the summer, despite interest from top-flight rivals Aston Villa, Brighton & Hove Albion and Everton.

It's thought that the Englishman is open to a temporary stint aboard in a desperate attempt to try and force his way back into Nuno Santo's plans - he has been usurped by academy graduate Oliver Skipp so far this campaign.

Time to go

Nuno isn't the only manager to rarely utilise Winks as he only started nine of 15 league appearances last season, under former manager Jose Mourinho and caretaker boss Ryan Mason.

The £18m-rated ace was a regular for Mauricio Pochettino between 2017 and 2020, also becoming a mainstay in Gareth Southgate's England squad but his lack of game time and consistency has seen him fall out of the reckoning, on both the domestic and international stage.

Once described as the "perfect" midfielder and compared to Andres Iniesta by the Argentine boss, Winks really would need to impress out on loan during the final six months of the season to stand a chance of getting back into Spurs' starting lineup.

It isn't just Skipp that he should be fearing.

The likes of Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Dele Alli are all playing more frequently in the engine room, so you're looking at him being fifth or sixth choice, and that's even after the departure of Moussa Sissoko in the summer.

Having seen his transfer value drop in half since December 2019, Winks is certainly at a career crossroad.

The Times have previously described him as 'stale', whilst Lilywhites legend Graham Roberts dubbed him "an average player" to Football FanCast in the summer.

As per WhoScored, the Hotspur Way youth product has never managed above a 6.57 average rating in any Premier League campaign since 2016/17, which is hugely underwhelming and some way off the standard you'd expect, especially when you consider his involvement in Spurs reaching the top three in three successive seasons.

It's time for Winks and Spurs to part ways this winter - sporting director Fabio Paratici must do all he can to shift him on in January.

AND in other news, Spurs lining up swoop for £36m-rated "animal in the box", he could be perfect for Kane...