On the latest episode of the View from the Lane podcast for The Athletic, Jack Pitt-Brooke and James Maw have been answering questions from Spurs fans regarding the upcoming season for Tottenham Hotspur.
One topic of discussion on the recent episode, which was titled: ‘Is Dele the odd one out?‘, was the future of Dele Alli in Jose Mourinho’s side. The 24-year-old has struggled to impress in 2020 thus far, having contributed just two goals and one assist in all competitions since the start of the year (per Whoscored). This perhaps led one Spurs fan to ask those on the podcast where the former MK Dons man fits into the Lilywhites side ahead of next season.
Here’s what Maw had to say about the England international on the podcast:
“If Spurs do play with something more akin to a 4-3-3 then it’s hard to see where Dele Alli fits in really, it’s hard to see exactly where he will play because he’s not really consistently shone playing deep in midfield in a three or in a two. He hasn’t really shown much to suggest that he would thrive in one of those wide positions. So actually, you’d say the most likely position he could play in that system would be as a centre-forward and obviously he’s not going to be first-choice there, for the time being at least.”
He later added:
“It feels like he may have been left behind a little bit in the recent tactical evolution in the Premier League and he needs to work out now whether he’s going to be a central-midfielder, like a number eight, or he’s going to be a wide forward, who I suppose would be best suited to predominantly playing on the left and cutting in onto his right. Obviously, that’s where [Heung-Min] Son is playing now. So it does feel like he’s at a bit of a crossroads.
“As to whether or not he would be a player worth selling, I think it would be a bit of a shame to cash in on him just for the sake of it, just because it feels like he doesn’t fit in in the system that we’re dabbling with right now. I still think that would be a little bit short-sighted unless they had an incredible offer, and they knew they could invest the money on one or two players who would clearly massively improve the team. I certainly think that could be a consideration next summer.”
TIF Thoughts…
As Maw explains, it is perhaps a concerning time for Alli at Spurs, as if Mourinho does opt for a 4-3-3 formation, then it is difficult to see where the 24-year-old fits in as an attacking-midfielder.
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Considering he is valued at a whopping £57.6 million, it is perhaps hard to see him departing this summer due to the financial constraints of the current viral outbreak, but if he hasn’t managed to adjust to a new position this time next summer, then as Maw suggests, perhaps we will see the Lilywhites cash in on him.