Now or Never: a crucial few months ahead for Spurs’ £28.8m-rated forgotten man | OneFootball

Four years ago, Dele Alli finished Spurs’ Premier League campaign with 18 goals from midfield, was a mainstay in the England national team and one of the hottest properties in Europe. Though he turned 25 last week, Alli has not yet reached the heights he was tipped for, losing form during Mauricio Pochettino’s final years and later wasting away on the bench under Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho’s departure as Spurs’ manager was confirmed on Monday among the furore around the European Super League and while he is unlikely to say so in public, Dele Alli is surely among the Spurs players most happy to see him go.

The relationship started well enough. Alli, valued at £28.8m, started the first 13 Premier League games of Mourinho’s Spurs tenure and though results were inconsistent, the Englishman popped up with some crucial goals as a key part of a side that was dealing with an injury to Harry Kane.

But a rift between the two appears to have originated at some point during the Premier League’s suspension during the first Covid-19 lockdown. Alli appeared in only three games following the season’s resumption, starting just one.

Alli was given chances this season as well. He started the first game of the season against Everton, but was replaced at half-time and had to wait until March for his next league start. Outings in the domestic cups and Europa League have shown promise, though largely against inferior opposition.

Having seen his chances of going to the Euro’s with England all but disappear, Dele Alli will know that he must impress on the pitch if he is to reignite his career. While he was inevitably linked with a reunion with Pochettino at PSG, he now has the perfect platform to revive his Spurs career and repay the fans for their faith.

Former Spurs midfielder Ryan Mason has been confirmed as Spurs manager until the end of the season. Mason spent his final playing year at Spurs alongside Alli, so he will know first hand just what he can do when filled with confidence.

The negativity is over. The blame game is over. Dele Alli has a clean slate and if he doesn’t succeed from here, he only has himself to blame.

Though the Euro’s appear a bridge too far (especially if players from the “Big 6” are banned from playing in it), we will surely see a lot more of Dele Alli between now and the end of the season. If he can rediscover the form of four years ago, it can only be a good thing for Spurs and England.