On the latest episode of the Last Word On Spurs podcast, Ricky Sacks, Jamie Brown, Richard Whitehead, and James Dickens have been discussing the latest goings-on at the north London club, looking back on the 3-0 win against Leicester City last weekend.
One topic of conversation on the recent episode, which was titled ‘Clinical Kane‘, was Dele Alli, and where he might fit into Jose Mourinho’s side going forward. The England international has missed Spurs’ last few games through injury, in which time we have seen the Lilywhites record three consecutive wins, so there is some concern amongst those on the podcast that the former MK Dons man might not be able to reclaim his place in Spurs’ starting eleven.
Here’s what Dickens had to say about the 24-year-old midfielder:
“It’s difficult, because I really love Dele. His skill set is so rare, [he’s] that midfielder who can get into the box, his finishing is incredible. But just slightly touching on what Jamie said about Giovani Lo Celso. If you look at his final season at Real Betis, he scored 16 goals from midfield, six assists – that’s Dele numbers.
“I think, to be honest, if you’re playing a 4-3-3, Dele can only really play on the left of a front three or as a 10, really, and I just don’t think he’ll get through enough work for Mourinho and it’s really difficult to see where he fits in the team, and I’m really sad about that.”
TIF Thoughts…
Although Dickens describes Lo Celso’s statistics with Real Betis as ‘Dele numbers’, the fact is that the England midfielder hasn’t hit those sorts of numbers with Spurs in a few years now. The youngster was a revelation in his first couple of seasons with the club; contributing 18 goals and seven assists in the 2016/17 season, but he has just 13 goals in the last two Premier League campaigns combined (per Whoscored).
Can you see Dele fitting into this Spurs team?
Yes
No
It will be interesting to see if the midfielder can stake a claim for a place in Mourinho’s starting eleven next season, or perhaps the Portuguese manager will see it as the right time to cash in on the £57.6 million-rated man.