Dele Alli is at a crossroads in his career with Tottenham Hotspur.
There is no denying the God-given talent Dele Alli possesses on a football pitch, however, the Tottenham star is at a crossroads in his career with Spurs and England.
In five seasons at Tottenham Hotspur, Dele has gone from unknown prospect to football superstar, to an imitation of himself notably accused of being his “brother” or at least playing like him, by his new coach. This new coach is the same new coach cursing at him, calling him lazy, and frankly questioning his commitment to the sport.
Simultaneously, Dele’s other “coach”, Gareth Southgate of England, is not calling, having not played Alli in over a year in an England shirt. Still only 24 years old, Dele Alli is at a crossroads in his footballing career for himself and for Tottenham Hotspur.
When Dele Alli was signed as a 19-year-old by Tottenham in February 2015, not too many people took a lot of notice. While part of the England National Team set-up from U17 onward, not much was really known about the young midfielder. When Tottenham then immediately loaned him to League One MK Dons, it could be assumed that Dele was a player for the future. However, following his return from loan in May 2015, Dele took the 2015-16 campaign by storm.
Dele blows up on the scene
Dele started slowly for the club receiving limited minutes, but his potential impact was seen early when he scored a late header against Leicester City in a 1-1 draw on match-day three. It was only Dele’s second appearance and was only 25 minutes long. But in those 25 minutes, Dele did what he became known for doing, he popped up at the right place, at the right time, and delivered.
It was a further seven games before Dele would score again, but his minutes were growing. Not only were his minutes growing, so too was his notoriety as Roy Hodgson would select Dele to the English National Team in October of that year. It was only September 2014 – 13 months prior – that Dele was featuring for John Peacock and the U19 team, such was the rate of his rise.
This selection was not unwarranted, however, it was in December 2015 that Spurs fans really began to see the kind of player Dele could be. Starting with a goal in Spurs 1-1 draw with West Brom on December 5 and over an 11-game stretch Dele scored five goals and assisted five more. Dele finished the 2015-16 campaign with 10 goals and 11 assists across some 46 matches and 3,200 minutes and some raised eyebrows and expectations.
It was the following season in 2016-17 where Dele blew the doors off the expectations and made everyone take notice. Dele put in 18 goals in the league with a further nine assists, totalling 22 goals and 13 assists in all competitions. There was one stretch where Dele had a brace for three straight Premier League matches, culminating with his two goals in a 2-0 victory over London rivals Chelsea.
Key in his contributions across the season, Dele played in 50 matches, logging over 4,000 minutes. Outside of sitting out the League Cup, Dele missed only one match the entire SEASON for Spurs, a 1-1 draw at Arsenal. Besides that, Dele was out there playing about 80 minutes a match and making it happen for the team.
Dele’s value would continue to climb for the next year as, according to transfermrk.com, his peak transfer value was $110 million in December 2018. However, since that incredible season in 2016-17 while Dele continued to score some big goals, his overall contributions have gone down considerably, as have his minutes, appearances, and overall contributions.
Dele’s slow decline
To be fair, Dele Alli plays a highly active position in one of, if not the toughest football league in the world. To think he could consistently provide 20-plus goals and a dozen-plus assists might have been ambitious. So, when Dele’s 2017-18 season saw a decline in the times he hit the net, maybe it was to be expected. Although the lowest total of HIS career, nine goals in the league from a midfielder is solid and add in a further 11 assists and it is a solid season.
Dele had a further five goals and six assists across other competitions, as he again made 50 appearances. In those 50 appearances, his minutes began to drop, at nearly 3,800 on the season. At 14 goals and 17 assists in all competitions, it was a good season, just not quite to the level and standard he had set the year before. Dele also missed five games total that season, with three coming from a red card suspension in the Champions League, one a coach’s decision, and another his first hamstring injury.
It was that last issue, the hamstring injury where things really started to fall apart the last couple of years for Dele. The game from the previous year was clearly just an isolated incident having occurred early in the season. However, 2018-19 was different for Dele as he missed seven games across the Champions League and Premier League in September alone for a bum hamstring.
Dele tried to return in October, but was not near his previous level as he managed just four goals and two assists across all competitions from October until late January when his leg gave out again and he was out for more than two months for a muscle strain. With the hamstring being the first major injury of his career, maybe Dele came back too early, but only he knows that.
Regardless, between his two leg injuries and fracturing his hand, Dele missed 20 matches over the course of the season, playing in 38 of Spurs’ 58 games. At just south of 3,000 minutes, and injured most of the campaign, Spurs were probably lucky to get the seven goals and eight assists they did – all career lows.
The 2019-20 campaign really was not that much different for Dele, although he had some impactful goals, scoring the only goals in draws home against Watford and away at Everton before Mauricio Pochettino was sacked. At that point, Dele had already missed four games from injury or selection and sat on the bench for a further three.
Dele, and not his brother, did show up for a little while at the start of Jose Mourinho’s tenure as coach, scoring four and assisting three in Mourinho’s first seven league matches and adding another goal in his first Champions League game.
However, Dele managed only two goals and two assists after his Boxing Day goal against Brighton and missed five of the last six matches of the season with injury or by selection. With a total of nine goals and six assists in all competitions, the idea of a 20-goal, 12-assist season seems like a dream.
What’s next for Dele Alli?
At this point, only beginning his sixth season as a top-flight professional, Dele Alli has some decisions to make. Mourinho made it clear in the second episode of “All or Nothing”, Dele will regret not putting more into his football and I think Jose is 100 percent right.
Mourinho – like him or not – is arguably one of the best coaches in world football, ever. If one of the best coaches, ever, calling your work habits out for all the world to see does not get a player to improve, nothing will. At this point, beyond whether Dele will regret it, frankly his career is on the line at this point.
Maybe it is hyperbole as someone, somewhere would sign Dele again, but his coach, the greatest of all time just called him out. How Dele responds is going to tell every future coach a lot about him and it might not be something Dele likes. Alternatively, if Dele responds and can bring back the magic of old, not only can be a superstar again, he would suddenly be a player every coach wanted, as he can respond when the going gets tough.
One coach watching all this play out is Gareth Southgate, who has not featured Dele Alli since the Nations League Final back in June 2019, over a year ago. When Southgate left Dele out of his most recent selection, his comments beyond praising the talent in the pool, were to the effect of Dele knowing what he needed to do to get back in the team. Now thanks to Jose Mourinho, so does the rest of the world. The question is, what is Dele Alli going to do about it?