From the Bernabeu to the Westfalenstadion, Harry Winks has played in some truly iconic football grounds.
He’s only 23, but has stood toe-to-toe against Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid’s home and silenced Borussia Dortmund’s yellow wall, yet there is just no substitute for a good old fashioned English ground and that’s why he relishes playing at Selhurst Park where the ‘ultras’ make an incredible noise.
“I think Crystal Palace is a special place to go because [like the new Spurs stadium], the sound doesn’t leave it and you know you’re in for a game when you go there,” he told Jim White in an exclusive interview on talkSPORT.
Sitting alongside him, though, was former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara, who couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Jim, he’s just played in a Champions League final and he’s saying that Crystal Palace is the best stadium he’s played at?!”
Defending himself, Winks it was because there is not many older stadiums around anymore as he reminisced about the old White Hart Lane.
“It’s an iconic place and where I scored my first goal for the club [against West Ham in 2016].
“What they’ve tried to do is make the new pitch and stadium as similar as they possibly could – obviously on a larger scale – and it still feels like home when you go there.
“I know there have only been eight games or so, but it’s home already.”
Winks, the boyhood Spurs fan, joined Tottenham when he was five years old and has spent time both in the stands and on the pitch.
“You could always feel the crowd on top of you, especially when we were doing well. It’s similar to the new one,” he added.
