Ian Wright has admitted that the form of Tottenahm attacker Dele Alli has dropped off a bit this season, but still expects him to overcome his problem and reach the next level.
The 21-year-old has quickly become one the world’s most highly rated young players due to his meteoric rise from MK Dons to a key player for Spurs and England.
However, he has been criticised at times this campaign, something that manager Mauricio Pochettino has been extremely vocal in defending.
The creative playmaker has been directly involved in 26 goals across all competitions this season, but still still has some way to go if he is to eclipse the tally of 35 from the last campaign in terms of goals and assists.
Alli now has such big pressure on his shoulders that Spurs fans feel he has underachieved at times and are seeking for him to be more involved in matches.
Pundit Wright insists that that the England international may have seen his overall form dip slightly due to more concentration from him by opponents, but is still confident he can go on to fulfil his massive potential.
“No he hasn’t (been as good as last season), but the thing is when you watch him it’s not through a lack of trying,” Wright told BBC 5 live Sport, as cited by their official Twitter account.
“It’s just people are now looking at Dele and knowing we’ve got to try stop him, whether it’s getting him off his game or getting tighter.
“All these things are part of the learning process, once he get to grips with it Dele will blast again and he will go again to the next level because that is what he is capable of.”
OPINION
Alli has a fair amount of stick this term, but he should take it as a compliment as people are expecting so much already from him. Pochettino has shown a public backing for the attacking midfielder and that is something that should give him full confidence. He proved with two goals against Real Madrid in the Champions League group stages that he can compete against the best and his challenge now is to find the consistency to his game. Alli is definitely a player that Spurs are building their team around ahead of the switch to the new stadium and the future looks very bright for the club if they can keep both him and Harry Kane.