Tottenham star reveals helping hand from Winks

Tottenham debutant Kazaiah Sterling has explained how England star Harry Winks helped him through his first game.

Sterling made his first senior appearance for the club in the 3-0 Champions League win over APOEL in midweek, the striker coming on as a late replacement in the 3-0 win at Wembley.

And the 19-year-old has revealed Winks’ words of advice.

“Winksy told me beforehand that as soon as he was on the ball, make the runs and he will find me and thankfully he did,” Sterling told Tottenham’s official website.

“I think the team put in a solid performance. It was great to see GK [Nkoudou] and Fernando [Llorente] get their first goals for the club and for Kyle [Walker-Peters] to make his first appearance in the Champions League as well.”

 

Like our dedicated Tottenham Facebook page for the latest news to your timeline

 

Sterling’s appearance had been delayed, with the ball staying in play longer than expected, meaning he replaced Dele Alli with just two minutes to go.

“I just wanted the ball to go out!” he added. “I heard the crowd cheer when it finally did! To be fair, waiting on the side felt longer than when I was warming up and the game was going on.

“I was very focused on the game during that time, though, and thinking about what the manager said. He told me to be confident, be tough, keep it simple and when there’s a chance, express yourself.”