Dele Alli Signs a Contract Extension with Spurs
The 19-year-old central midfielder will remain with Spurs until 2021.
Last year during the winter transfer window, Spurs made one other signing besides DeAndre Yedlin from Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer. And that would be a then-18-year-old Dele Alli from League One side MK Dons.
Not much was known about the player at the time being other than he was tearing it up in League One by scoring plenty of goals. By the time Spurs had signed the central midfielder on February 2nd, before the transfer window closed, Alli had already made 32 appearances, scored 12 goals and had five assists.
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Clearly the potential was there but some skepticism still lingered. After all, it was League One and not say, the Championship. Besides, the initial reaction was that Tottenham needed to sign players who had Premier League experience, considering that all seven players who came overseas during the post-Gareth Bale era had no prior experience in English football and a majority of them didn’t settle in.
It took Érik Lamela a while to find his groove, Christian Eriksen and Nacer Chadli hit the ground running, but the rest? Well they were closing in on an exit. And yet a youth player like Dele Alli, who yes, he was English, he’s homegrown. But he was going to help Spurs this season? Let alone grab one of the starting spots in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting eleven?
Boy have times changed. Now Dele Alli is all the rage this season.
Tottenham have found success in signing young, promising and relatively unknown players from the lower leagues of English football and integrating them into the squad. At a very manageable — cheap, if you will — price.
And because of Alli’s rise to superstardom by making 26 appearances, scoring five goals and tallying three assists in all competitions this season. While solidifying a partnership with Eric Dier at the double pivot or playing higher up in an advanced role as an attacking midfielder.
Then it’s no wonder that the now 19-year-old’s current form has seen the England international get rewarded with a five-year contract extension based on his first half accomplishments this season.
“It’s very good for him and for us,” Pochettino said. “I think he deserves, for this last six months with us, this improvement in his contract and his salary.”
“Now he’s an international and he plays consistently for the first team. I think he deserves all that he gets now.”
And Dele Alli did deserve what he got, remaining with Spurs until 2021. Because of this, it clearly shows how important the midfielder is to Mauricio Pochettino’s youth setup, a youth movement in north London.
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Alli also realizes that his official move during the summer, after completing his loan spell with MK Dons has been nothing short of a great environment to help him grow as a footballer and as a person.
“I’m delighted,” Dele Alli said while speaking to Spurs TV.
“The club has been really great to me since I arrived, we’ve got a great young team and I can only see us going forward.”
“I’m really happy to be here.”
Mauricio Pochettino would add more to his earlier comment about Dele Alli deserving a contract extension. And here’s what he had to say:
“For me, all the players are important.”
“It’s true Dele is important too but for me the most important thing is the quality of the squad and the team spirit. And then you have a very good player with the quality to play, who can achieve whatever they want.”
“The most important thing is that players like Dele Alli are here, showing their commitment to the club and this is the most important thing.”
And for Spurs to achieve their goals this season which is a top four finish in the Premier League and two long cup runs in the Europa League and FA Cup, respectively. Then the players’ qualities, commitment and team spirit, must continue. Their forms, must continue. It can’t dip or disappear for a prolonged period of time.
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It’s asking a lot yes, because players’ forms don’t last an entire season, but Mauricio Pochettino knows that his team can get it done.
After all, up and down this 25-man squad, each player is considered important and plays a vital role with the club. A young and hungry team has done exceptionally well in just six months. Why would it be hard to see it continue, let alone get better? It’s not too much of a stretch to think that Spurs can’t reach their goals at the end of the season despite a more congested schedule.