Tottenham: Dele Alli Wins January Player of the Month Award
Dele Alli becomes the 13th Tottenham player in club history to win the Premier League Player of the Month award, and the second player this season (Son Heung-Min, September 2016).
Yesterday morning, Dele Alli was awarded with the Player of the Month award for January after scoring five goals and setting up teammate Harry Kane for a goal.
Alli who has 11 Premier League goals (and three assists) on the year has already surpassed last season’s tally of 10 league goals, thanks in large part to a spectacular run of form from December 18th to January 21st.
While Alli’s three goals against Burnley and Southampton don’t count towards him winning the Player of the Month award for January, it did help set the stage for what was to come.
And that was braces against Watford and Chelsea in back-to-back matches, plus a goal against Manchester City.
In total, the 20-year-old midfielder scored eight goals in just six games. Five goals which of course came in the month of January alone.
Must Read: Tottenham Celebrates One Year Since THAT Dele Alli Goal
Dele Alli was in scintillating form after going on a seven-match drought in the Premier League. Eight, if you include a knee injury that kept him out for the North London Derby against Arsenal.
Challenging Alli for the prestigious honor was fellow teammate, Harry Kane, who also recorded five goals (a brace against Watford and a hat-trick over West Bromwich Albion) and recorded two assists.
Either Tottenham player would have been a fine recipient to lift the Player of the Month award.
With this is becoming Dele Alli’s first time winning this award, he becomes the second Spurs player to win a Player of the Month award this season. Son Heung-Min took home this honor back in September, earlier in the season.
Dele Alli also becomes the 13th Tottenham player in club history to win this accolade with Gareth Bale (April 2010, January 2012, February 2013) and Harry Kane (January 2015, February 2015, March 2016) being the only multi-time winners with three apiece.
More from Hotspur HQ
- Storybook ending after difficult period for Tottenahm’s Richarlison
- Tottenham comeback showcased invaluable intangible Ange has cultivated
- Tottenham player ratings in 2-1 comeback win over Sheffield United
- Tottenham projected starting 11 for Sheffield United
- Tottenham’s Richarlison says he’s going to seek psychological help
Speaking to Spurs’ official website, Dele Alli talked more about his teammates for allowing him to win this honor, rather than his own individual efforts. It is a team sport after all.
“It’s the first one I’ve won and it’s a real honour,” Alli said.
“I think the whole team played brilliantly last month, we really played well as a team and we just clicked really well so it’s an honour to win this.”
“Now we’re coming to the final parts of the season so it’s important that we go into it strong as a team, play well, win games and pick up as many points as we can.”
One explanation to Alli’s recent surge in form during January was because of Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to field three at the back and go with a more attack-oriented 3-4-2-1 formation.
This allowed Dele Alli to play high up the pitch and just off of Harry Kane’s left shoulder which made Spurs slightly resemble a 3-4-3 system.
With Danny Rose and Kyle Walker as full-backs, they received more freedom to bomb up the pitch with Jan Vertonghen, Toby Aldersweireld and Eric Dier covering behind them.
More attacking players would overload the opposition’s defense causing havoc.
There becomes plenty of targets to pick out if Rose or Walker has possession of the ball and is choosing to deliver a cross towards the box.
But Dele Alli isn’t too concerned with whichever formation or system is utilized. For him, he’d be okay playing wherever so long as he’s getting the opportunity to play.
“We’ve got a great manager here, he’s really tactical so whenever he changes it you have a lot of trust in what he’s doing and you just go out there and play,” Alli added.
“I’m happy to be out there, I’d play in any formation and any position for this team and I’m happy to help the team by getting some goals.”
Next: Five Takeaways: Tottenham Disappoints Against Liverpool
After being signed during the January 2015 winter transfer window and making his Premier League debut later on in the year, Dele Alli has now appeared in 78 appearances in all competitions for Spurs.
The young attacking midfielder has already scored 23 goals and tallied 16 assists in all competitions. For just £5 million, Alli has been a massive coup for Tottenham in just a season-and-a-half.