Ian Wright believes that Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli is going through a difficult patch of form right now and has hinted that an exit to a bigger club will only be possible if he finds consistency.
The 21-year-old has come in for criticism lately for his performances and the playmaker has not scored in the Premier League since October.
He has still managed seven goals and six assists across all competitions so far this campaign, but now has huge pressure on his shoulders after his major breakthrough at Spurs in recent years.
Pundit Wright believes that Alli looked a “shadow” of his former self at the weekend during his side’s 4-1 defeat to Manchester City, which leaves Mauricio Pochettino’s side seventh in the Premier League table.
Wright has explained that the England international has looked off the boil and that widespread talk of him ending up at a heavyweight club like Real Madrid in the future depends on his consistency.
He believes that Alli has signed with a new agency in the hope of a big-money move later down the line.
“It is a very very important time for Dele. He has got to be focusing on football even when he is not playing football to get himself back to the level he was at,” Wright told BBC Radio 5 Live, as quoted by their official Twitter account.
“The other day he was like a shadow of what we know he can do. When you start getting agents like Jorge Mendes you are not getting those agent to renegotiate contacts.
“You are getting those agents to move you somewhere, move you big, so he has got to be playing at a consistent level [to show] why he would go get an agent like that.”
OPINION
Alli does need to just focus on getting his own game on track as too many distractions are having a negative impact on his performances on the pitch. There is no doubt that the attacking midfielder has brilliant technical ability and has shown he can be a star player in the Premier League when in form. He has still chipped away this campaign with a decent contribution for Spurs, but even their fans are growing frustrated at his overall contribution to matches. Alli’s future may lie away from Spurs in a few years time, but Wright is correct in saying that the elite teams will move on from him if he is not delivering on a regular basis.