Harry Winks has been a solid performer for Leicester City.
Having signed for the Foxes in the summer of 2023, Winks was a key part of Enzo Maresca’s side last season, featuring in 45 of Leicester’s 46 Championship games.
Maresca was often full of praise for Winks because of his performances in the heart of Leicester’s midfield.
As with the rest of his side, however, the former England international has found things harder to come by this season.
Winks wasn’t even afforded the opportunity to influence Leicester’s 2-0 defeat at Manchester City on Wednesday, with Ruud van Nistelrooy not including him in the matchday squad.
The reason behind van Nistelrooy’s decision has since been revealed, with a former England manager defending the Dutchman’s actions.
Sam Allardyce labels Harry Winks ‘extremely unprofessional’ in defence of Ruud van Nistelrooy
As reported by The Telegraph, Winks was dropped by van Nistelrooy for the game against Manchester City because he refused to stay at Leicester’s training ground overnight ahead of the match.
Instead, Winks wanted to commute 100 miles, as he normally does, a decision that reportedly led to a confrontation with his manager.
Speaking on talkSPORT breakfast, Sam Allardyce supported van Nistelrooy for his decision.
The 70-year-old said: “Well the first thing I’d do is ask [Winks] how he’s travelling up and if he hasn’t got a chauffeur with the money he’ll be earning, I’d probably drop him.”
Allardyce was then even more scathing in his opinion, stating: “To not stay over the day before a game particularly, it is extremely unprofessional in my view.”
With Leicester next in action on Monday night against Newcastle, it remains to be seen if van Nistelrooy includes Winks in his squad.
A comparison of Harry Winks’ numbers under Enzo Maresca, Steve Cooper and Ruud van Nistelrooy
In recent weeks, prior to not selecting him in the squad for the Manchester City game, van Nistelrooy has limited Winks to substitute appearances.
When playing either 4-2-3-1 or 5-2-3, the Dutchman has preferred a double midfield pivot of Wilfred Ndidi and Boubakaray Soumare.
Despite this, Winks remains one of Leicester’s top-rated players this campaign.
He was also strongly favoured by former Leicester manager Steve Cooper, the Welshman starting Winks in 10 of his 12 Premier League games in charge.
| Enzo Maresca | Steve Cooper | Ruud van Nistelrooy | |||
| League starts | Substitute appearances | League starts | Substitute appearances | League starts | Substitute appearances |
| 45 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
Considering Cooper managed to pick up 10 points across those 12 games, three more than van Nistelrooy has managed in 17 fixtures, it might not be such a bad thing if the Dutchman integrates the 29-year-old back into the Starting XI.