I lost my love for football at Tottenham but am now eyeing a Premier League return

Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks has said that he’s enjoying his football more than ever after a few ‘tough’ last years at the club.

After spending the previous season on loan with Italian side Sampdoria, Winks completed a permanent move away from Spurs in the summer transfer window. He moved toChampionship side Leicester City for a fee of £10 million, bringing an end to his time at Spurs, where he came up through the academy.

Winks played a total of 203 times for Tottenham, but fell out of favour over the last three seasons. It was during that period where he admits that he lost a bit of ‘love’ for the game.

«Maybe the last two or three years of my time at Spurs was tough, but before that it was amazing and I loved every minute,» he told BBC East Midlands Today .

«I learned a lot from that as well, it definitely develops your character when you don't play as regularly and you don't feel as important. But again I wouldn't want to change it for anything, I've learned so much along the way in my career and it makes you enjoy the highs more when you've been through that.

»I probably did lose a little bit of love for it in the last couple of years when I wasn't playing and left out of squads and things like that. It's difficult to find that love for it, but once you make the brave decision to leave and go to Italy and try to find it there, which I did, and to come here (Leicester)… now it is probably the most I've ever enjoyed football in my career."

'Don't sell me' — Pedro Porro issues major Tottenham update after injury blow

Gareth Southgate and England could block Harry Kane's emotional Tottenham reunion

Winks has been a key player for Leicester this season as they sit at the top of the Championship and look on