On the latest episode of the Extra Inch podcast, Chris Miller, Nathan Clark and Bardi have been discussing the latest goings-on at the North London club, reacting to the win against Arsenal last weekend, and previewing Wednesday night’s game against Newcastle United.
One topic of conversation on the recent episode, which was titled ‘Mourinho Gonna Mourinho – Winning The NLD‘, was the future of Dele Alli in the Spurs squad.
The 24-year-old has missed the last few fixtures due to a hamstring injury and after Spurs’ switch to a 4-4-2 resulted in a 2-1 win against Arsenal, Bardi seems concerned as to where the former MK Dons man might fit into Mourinho’s side going forward.
Here’s what he had to say about the England international:
“I don’t see where he fits in but then, if you’re going to play Dele, then you’re taking out (Heung-min) Son – and Son is arguably our best player. So I’m not sure what happens to Dele right now, the injury is unfortunate for him but it’s kind of also lucky that it’s taken him out and protected him a little bit from our bad playing, because he’s quite often singled out by the fans and by the media so it’s protecting him from criticism.
“I’m unsure where he fits, I still have my doubts about him being able to play in a midfield three, and from what we’ve seen in Lucas [Moura] and [Moussa] Sissoko wide, and [Steven] Bergwijn also works hard, I’m not sure whether he’s suited for that role either, so I think it’s quite a concerning time for Dele.”
TIF Thoughts…
So far this season, Alli has contributed eight goals and four assists in 24 appearances in the Premier League (per WhoScored), suggesting that he is still an important part of Mourinho’s side when fit.
Can Alli still be an important player for Mourinho?
Yes
No
It will be interesting to see whether the Portuguese boss sticks with the 4-4-2 formation that worked at the weekend against Newcastle on Wednesday night, and whether or not we see Alli feature in that set-up before the end of the season. Considering the Englishman is naturally an attacking midfielder, we can understand Bardi’s concern that he might not fit into this formation going forward.