With Antonio Conte very set in his ways at Tottenham, the Italian manager knew exactly who he wanted in his squad for the coming season.
That meant players such as Tanguy Ndombélé and Harry Winks were told to find first-team football elsewhere, with both heading to Italy to get it.
Napoli welcomed the Frenchman, while Sampdoria were willing to give the other Tottenham midfielder a chance, only for him to pick up an ankle injury.
It’s kept him sidelined for the entirety of the first half of the season, leading him to have surgery on it to fix it, and he’s now working his way back to try and help the Serie A side going forward.
The Tottenham man is still recovering, and is currently in Turkey with his squad on their tour, where he gave an interview to SampNews24, providing an update on his condition in the process.
He said: “At the moment, I feel good. I’m proceeding gradually with the recovery. In fact, it’s only been six weeks since my operation, so I need time to get back into shape. Now that I’m training separately on the field, I have the opportunity to see my teammates and have a comparison. I’m still physically behind them, but every day is a little bit more and for me, it’s a small win.”
There had been talk that he could return to Tottenham if he didn’t progress as wanted, but that isn’t something Winks is thinking about, or even wanting, at this point.
He said about staying at Sampdoria: “It’s true. I absolutely want to play for Sampdoria. The last four months have been very complicated, for the team and also for me. Lots of bad luck. I’m working hard to come back, including holidays. It was and is frustrating not being able to play or train with the. Team.
“But I have to stay strong and aim for the goal, and I trust that I the next five months of the league, we will be able to do well.”
