Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 7y

Scott Parker tips Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks for the top

Scott Parker has backed Harry Winks to reach the top after playing against the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder in last weekend's FA Cup fifth-round win at Fulham.

Parker, 36, was a senior player at Tottenham from 2011 to 2013 while Winks was still in the academy and was a mentor to the then teenager.

Speaking ahead of the match at Craven Cottage, Winks said he aspired to have a similar career to Parker.

Parker and Winks only played five minutes against each other after the Fulham man came on in the 74th minute before Winks was replaced in the 79th.

But Parker was impressed with what he saw and said: "He certainly looks the part.

"He's obviously in a very good team with an unbelievable manager who will give him an opportunity. He's got every chance.

"He's good lad as well, gets his head down and works. I've no doubt he can go to the top."

Winks has started all three of Spurs' FA Cup games this season, as well as two matches apiece in the Premier League, Champions League and EFL Cup.

The 20-year-old is fighting for a spot with Mousa Dembele, Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier, and Parker said: "It's not easy, especially in this Spurs team. It might be a different story if you are in a bottom 10 team.

"Maybe you could understand him getting a chance but, in the top four in the Premier League, for a 21-year-old to get a chance and to be playing regularly says a lot about him.

"As much as anything, it says what the manager thinks of him and what he's done already. Full credit to him."

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