Harry Winks is quickly making a name for himself at the top level and claims that he couldn’t have a better duo to learn from than Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele.

Winks has impressed in 32 appearances for Tottenham this term and has set his sights on a senior England call-up after being part of the under-21 set-up.

Wanyama has been a model of consistency since joining from Southampton last summer – and is the only player to have started all 28 of Spurs’ Premier League games this term.

Fellow engine-roomer Dembele has wowed with his attacking prowess but 21-year-old Winks has held his own alongside the highly-regarded pair, and is relishing the chance to rub shoulders with them on a daily basis.

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“Victor and Mousa are top, top players – probably two of the best midfielders in the league,” said Winks.

“They’re great guys off the pitch as well, not just on it. They’re brilliant with their advice and for me, just watching them on the bench and coming on alongside them, I’m learning all the time.

“Seeing them in training every day too – they complement each other very well.

“Victor is obviously solid, he’s an absolute brute but he’s very, very good with the ball at his feet as well. He’s a fantastic player and he’s had a very good season since joining from Southampton.

“I think everyone loves Mousa for being Mousa! He’s different class with his balance, his strength and his technique – he’s one of the best I’ve ever played with in my life.

“That makes them complement each other so well. You’ve got Victor who can sit and do the defensive side as well as join in attacks, and then you’ve got Mousa who can do both as well, so I think they both balance each other’s games out very well.”

Crystal Palace defender Martin Kelly admits that Eden Hazard is the player he least likes facing ahead of the Eagles clash with Chelsea this weekend.

Kelly started his career at Liverpool, but moved to Selhurst Park in 2014, and has established himself as a regular for Palace.

He has made 24 appearances for the team so far this year but has not featured since January.

However Kelly was on the bench for the win over Watford before the international break and could be in line for a return to the first team against the league leaders.

If he does so, he could come up against Hazard – who is a doubt of his own after missing Belgium’s game with Russia – an opponent who he admits is always tricky to deal with.

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“Because of my build, I like playing against good athletic wingers, but he is small and stocky and his change of pace is ridiculous,” said Kelly.

“I find tricky wingers like that difficult to play against and he is one of the best in the Premier League.”

Palace currently sit four points outside the relegation places in 16^th with ten games left this season.

But with games against every team in the top six still on their schedule, there is still a lot of work for Sam Allardyce’s side to do.

Leicester City forward Shinji Okazaki is determined to qualify for his third World Cup after reaching 50 goals for Japan on Tuesday night.

Okazaki reached the landmark for his country with a diving header in their 4-0 win over Thailand, his 108th appearance for Japan.

Only Manchester United strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney, of current Premier League players, have scored more goals at international level.

The Japanese striker was a key part of the Foxes squad that won the Premier League title last year by supporting strike partner Jamie Vardy and contributing five goals.

(Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)

And he’s only found the back of the net on two league occasions so far this term as City have struggled in the lower half of the table.

But the 30-year-old, who was part of the Japan squads at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, insists he isn’t finished at international level just yet.

“I’m incredibly happy to get that goal,” he said. “I hadn’t scored for a while so it was a relief. Hopefully I can keep on scoring goals for Japan.”

“We’re not at the World Cup yet. We have to make sure we keep taking our chances and win our remaining games.”

Sunderland defender Paddy McNair admitted that having team-mate Duncan Watmore sidelined with the same injury has helped them both in recovery.

McNair picked up a cruciate knee ligament injury in November’s 3-0 victory over Hull and has not featured for the Black Cats since.

Watmore suffered the same fate just a month later, and McNair believes that spending the recovery period together has certainly aided the process so far.

Sunderland are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League and are seven points from safety as they prepare for their trip to Watford on Saturday.

And McNair believes he and Watmore can speed up their recovery as Sunderland look to make another great escape, after being on the cusp of relegation for the past five seasons, in their final ten league fixtures.

(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

“I couldn’t really imagine doing it on my own, it sounds bad, but I think Duncan’s happy I’m doing it with him and I’m definitely happy to have him,” said McNair.

“I got my operation a week ahead of Duncan, so I was winding him up, telling him I was a week ahead, you know.

“There’s a good bit of craic, some days you know I came in and it’s like, you’re devastated, you know. Some days he’s like that too so we can push each other along.”

With 42 caps and 11 goals for his country already, West Ham’s No.7 Sofiane Feghouli is revered in his homeland far more than he is in English football – alongside Leicester City pair Islam Slimani and Riyad Mahrez.

But the Algerian admits it is going to be tough for his side to recreate their heroics of the 2014 World Cup with the team suffering a decline similar to that of his club this term.

Algeria have a mountain to climb to reach the 2018 finals in Russia as they sit bottom of their qualifying group.

However, Hammers midfielder Feghouli – who scored against Belgium in the group stages in Brazil, before Algeria were edged out after extra-time by eventual champions Germany – is hoping his form in England can continue to inspire those back home.

“When I was young, I’d watch all the Algerian players that plied their trade all over Europe, not that there were that many,” he said.

“I always tried to keep up with how they were getting on at their respective clubs.

“Now that I’m a professional footballer, it’s the opposite. There are Algerians who keep tabs on me and I still follow the other Algerians who play in Europe. The country has a population of 40 million.

“Football is the number one sport there and we’re really big football fans, especially when it comes to the national team.

“I think the World Cup is the very best competition in terms of the feelings and emotions that it generates.

“If you haven’t played in it, you can’t know exactly what it means. I was lucky enough to play in it in 2014 and Algeria played very well.

“It was a dream come true for millions of Algerians and we made history by reaching the last 16 for the first time.

“We played a historic tie against Germany in which we were on the verge of knocking them out. I was very happy and proud to take part in that incredible adventure.

“I’d like to play in it again in 2018, although it will be very difficult to qualify.”

Southampton midfielder and fan favourite Oriol Romeu is enjoying his increased game time at Saints under Claude Puel, after struggling during spells at Chelsea and Barcelona.

Romeu has filled the void left by Victor Wanyama, who left the south coast for Tottenham last summer.

And Romeu believes he is now a key part of the Saints dressing room which has been reflected in Puel’s decision to feature him in 37 of Saints’ 42 competitive appearances this season.

Romeu will hope his side can get back to winning ways after defeat to Spurs last time out.

Puel’s men take on Bournemouth in a south-coast derby this weekend, with both sides locked on 33 points in mid-table.

(Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)

“It’s been very good. Having games is something I needed and wanted and coming here has given me this,” said Romeu.

“It is something I haven’t done before.

“I’ve always been fighting for this and I’ve always been looking for this kind of season. I have good feelings that, as a player, I don’t want to lose and want to make it last as long as possible.

“It’s great to have this feeling and hopefully it won’t go away.

“I feel respected. I’m an important part of the dressing room, which in the way you play gives you that respect. It’s something very nice, I’m really enjoying it.”

Craig Cathcart insists Watford can blunt the attacking threat of England and Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe when the Hornets meet the Black Cats on Saturday.

Defoe netted for England against Lithuania on Sunday, and has scored 14 out of Sunderland’s 24 goals in the Premier League this season.

David Moyes’ side are rooted to the foot of the table, while Watford are 14^th, seven points above the drop zone.

Watford defender Cathcart says Walter Mazzarri’s side cannot give Defoe any time or space in the box in Saturday’s clash.

“It’s always a big challenge when you come up against Jermain,” he said.

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“I’ve faced him a few times and he is a quality player. He is deadly in the box so you can’t afford to give him chances as he is such a good finisher.

“Watching him lately, he seems to have got better with age.

“He’s been in fine form this season but hopefully on Saturday when Sunderland come to our place we can stop his goals and stop his threat.

“We want to be beating the teams below us and on Saturday we are at home so we’ll be out to impose ourselves and get the three points.

“People will say it’s a crucial game for Sunderland, but it’s a big game for us as well. We are not safe until we reach that 40 point mark and we have big games coming up starting against Sunderland on Saturday.”

Michael Keane hailed the work of Burnley’s backroom staff after he made his international debut last week, playing twice in Gareth Southgate’s new-look team.

The centre-back arrived at Turf Moor with a point to prove after leaving Manchester United three years ago.

And he has become one of the most reliable defenders in the Premier League – helping Burnley form a formidable backline which is likely to steer them to survival.

Keane started against Germany and Lithuania last week, in a mixed international break for the Three Lions after they went down 1-0 in Dortmund before easing to victory against Lithuania.

Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images

And Keane heaped praise on manager Sean Dyche and coaches Ian Woan and Tony Loughlan for helping him realise his potential.

“I think I’ve improved massively defensively,” he said.

“I feel like the gaffer, Woany and Tone have drilled in to me every day the need to defend right and do the basics well; heading it, clearing it, organising,” he said.

“I feel like I’ve become more of a leader on the pitch and I feel much more confident from playing games and getting all that experience.

“I’ve come on leaps and bounds since I’ve been here but I know that I’ve got to keep improving and there’s a lot more to come.”

Swansea have been battling at the foot of the Premier League this season, but manager Paul Clement doesn’t want that to take away from Gylfi Sigurdsson’s talents.

Playmaker Sigurdsson joined the Swans from Tottenham in 2014 and has become an integral part of the Welsh side, with 36 goals from 122 appearances in all competitions to date.

And this season he is performing wonders in a struggling team, scoring eight goals and assisted a further 11, all of which has gone some way to lifting Swansea out of the relegation zone.

And Clement working at the likes of Chelsea, PSG, Ream Madrid and Bayern Munich before pitching up at the Liberty Stadium, he knows talent when he sees it.

“I think he is more than good enough to be in that discussion [about the best players in the league], he probably gets overlooked because of the position of the team,” Clement said.

“When teams are lower down in the table, the individual players don’t always get that recognition they deserve, but he is a player that’s done really, really well.

“Every day in training, pushing, extra stuff to work on his technique, his finishing, set plays.

“He is really alert and attentive in the video meetings, (takes) good care of his body and is very good professional.”

Former Liverpool attacker Luis Garcia has backed the club to make the Champions League next year as they enter the final stages of the season.

The Reds currently sit fourth in the Premier League, four points clear of Manchester United but having played two games more.

They have a huge Merseyside derby coming up this weekend but their recent form has picked up after disastrous January.

Jurgen Klopp’s side will be without Adam Lallana for a month after he suffered a thigh injury with England, but Garcia, who spent three seasons at the club, believes they will secure a top-four finish.

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He said: “I think it’s still there (Champions League qualification for Liverpool).

“It was the target at the beginning of the season and it’s the one they have to continue working for.

“I think the team is ready for it, it’s true they had a down period during the first part of 2017 but I’m sure of the reaction they’re going to have.

“We know what (Klopp) is capable of doing with this team and they’ve shown it before during the first part of the league.

“I don’t have a doubt that if they continue working the same way they will be in the top four at the end of the season.”