BBC pundit and former Premier League midfielder Steve Sidwell has slammed Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli as he believes that the player has not stepped up to the plate in recent weeks.
Sidwell questioned whether Alli was “100%” fit before suggesting that maybe his poor performances were down to not being confident when Harry Kane isn’t playing.
After the North London side fell to two straight defeats in the Premier League and Champions League respectively, Sidwell had his say on the 23-year old.
“I don’t know whether he’s masking an injury, whether he’s not 100%,” said Sidwell to BBC 5 Live Sport.
“Whether it’s a case of when Harry Kane doesn’t play he loses that confidence, he shouldn’t do with Eriksen, Moura and Son in the team as well.
“He hasn’t stepped up.”
OPINION
Arguably, Alli has seemed to go completely missing in recent fixtures for Spurs, however there haven’t exactly been many stand-out performances from the rest of the players either. The 23-year old midfielder was effectively useless in the ties with West Ham and Ajax, presumably due to the absence of his fellow countryman Harry Kane. The England international didn’t exactly prove himself on the European stage against Ajax, although the Spurs side were without Kane and Son Heung-min, which seemed to have it’s effect on the whole team, not just Alli. The midfielder still has a chance to prove the doubters wrong, and step up when called upon in the remaining games of the season, however there isn’t too much room for manoeuvre as the season comes to a close. Alli will no doubt be in the spotlight, along with the likes of Heung Min-Son and Lucas Moura as Spurs travel to Ajax in the Champions League next week, where Spurs fans will be hoping to see glimpses of magic from their number 20.