Why The Dele Dream At Tottenham May Not Be Dead Yet

How many times have we questioned if Dele can have a renaissance at Tottenham? Is the dream dead? Maybe not just yet.

Dele is one of Tottenham Hotspurs’ most enigmatic players. Not quite a central midfielder, not quite a playmaker in the traditional sense, Dele lacks the pace to be continuously impactful from the flanks or as an out-and-out forward.

What he does have is a desire to score and create chances around the box, along with an almost street-ball skillset.

Dele has always been a comfortable and confident attacking midfielder. Remember him at his best? He was always in front of Christian Eriksen and just behind Harry Kane.

A deeper striker partner to Kane, but never a prototypical forward, Dele would roam around the edge of the area and occasionally drift deeper when needed, allowing Son Heung-Min to overlap. Yet he was always switched on to making lethal runs off Kane’s shoulder. So what changed, and where did our Dele go?

Dele played a major part in Tottenham’s run to the 2019 UEFA Champions League final and, before a controversial away defeat to Burnley in early 2019, performed pretty well in the league, too.

When things started to turn sour for Mauricio Pochettino, Dele was hampered by the gaffer’s desire to play him in a deeper role. Pochettino changed the formation and shape to try and spark life back into the side. Dele didn’t adjust well, and, aside from a few benchmark moments like his his pivotal ball through to Lucas Moura for Tottenham’s most iconic goal of the 21st century, his regression started.

Even to this day, Spurs haven’t technically revived his position, nor have they decided to implement a style that emulates Pochettino’s early years at Spurs. It begs the question, what happens to Dele now and can he still rejuvenate his Tottenham career?

During Sunday evening’s 2-2 draw at home to Liverpool, Dele started his first game since an embarrassing 53-minute performance away to NS Mura in the Conference League. And he made the most of the rare start. 

Antonio Conte went to five at the back, which actually morphed into a 3-5-2. The wing backs provide width in midfield. You then, in theory, have two out of three central midfielders responsible for protecting the back four and getting the attack started. The third midfielder finds space between the front two and the pair of more defensive central midfielders.

It’s a position Lucas Moura loves. An energetic spark with lightning-quick pace, one almost assumes he’s a natural part of a front three with Kane and Son. However, Moura usually drops deeper than Sonny to support his other midfielders while providing an outlet option. It’s a role Dele may also be well suited for, but not for the same reasons.

While he lacks pure sprint speed and off-the-mark acceleration, Dele has a puritan’s football brain and possesses outstanding positional awareness. To contest Moura for the position, Dele must adopt an unparalleled desire and unrelenting work rate, ensuring he covers and tracks back out of possession. Which is exactly what he did against Liverpool on Sunday.

Confidence, which has been distinctly missing, may return with increased match time. We saw how unlucky he was not to score against Liverpool. When considering a possible renaissance, it’s essential that Dele makes the attacking midfielder role his own. Though Conte won’t have unlimited patience where Dele’s potential revival is concerned.

Dele experienced his initial fall from grace at the end of Pochettino’s reign. Jose Mourinho brought him back to life, albeit momentarily. Now it’s Conte’s turn to see if he can revitalize Dele’s Tottenham career. Because if the new gaffer doesn’t see a consistent improvement soon, Dele’s dream of revitalizing his sputtering career in north London will surely perish.