Having left out of Antonio Conte’s plans at Tottenham Hotspur this season, Harry Winks joined Sampdoria on a loan deal last summer.
The midfielder didn’t feature for the Serie A side in 2022 because an ankle injury forced him to undergo a surgery and spend time away from the pitch.
His struggles had led to suggestions he could return to the north London club in January.
Winks, however, had other plans, as he insisted on travelling to Turkey with the Sampdoria squad to be part of the training for the friendlies that took place towards the end of last year.
After a troubled five months, the Spurs owned player finally made his debut for the Italian club at the start of this week, with the 26-year-old coming off the bench in Sampdoria’s 1-0 loss to Empoli on Monday.
Gazzetta dello Sport state the Englishman is finally ‘out of the tunnel’ after ‘complicated months’.
Although the Tottenham man was on the pitch for only 28 minutes, it was enough for the Sampdoria supporters to understand he is a ‘player of another category’.
He is now in contention to make his first start for the club against Udinese later this weekend.
Sampdoria are 19th in the table and Winks feels the responsibility to play an important role in helping the club avoid getting relegated.
This, as per Gazzetta is a ‘sort of moral debt to Sampdoria, aware of how much his very long stop has weighed’.
