On the latest episode of the View from The Lane podcast for The Athletic, Jack Pitt-Brooke, James Maw and Charlie Eccleshare have been discussing the latest goings-on at Tottenham Hotspur, including the imminent signings of Gareth Bale and Sergio Reguilon from Real Madrid.
One topic of discussion on the podcast, was the future of Dele Alli. It was reported that the 24-year-old could potentially join Los Blancos on loan as part of the deal that would see Bale re-join the Lilywhites but this was quickly dismissed, with the 31-year-old set to join on a one-year loan deal, without the Englishman heading the other way.
The former MK Dons player was subbed at half-time in Spurs’ first Premier League game of the season against Everton and didn’t travel to face Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the recent Europa League qualifying game, which has perhaps led to some concerns about his future in Jose Mourinho’s side.
Here’s what Eccleshare had to say about Alli and his future at Spurs on the podcast:
“He played half a game on the weekend before being hooked, so it’s not like he was knackered and needed a rest. If we thought, ‘yeah he’s definitely going to start against Southampton, so that would make sense for him not to travel to Plovdiv’, then that would be one thing, but realistically, we don’t think that will be the case. So he was left behind.
“[There were] suggestions that he was part of the Real Madrid deal, which we think wasn’t necessarily the case. I’ve heard, [that there were] heated words at half-time in the game and then the following day, but again, these haven’t been confirmed and some have said that that’s been exaggerated. So, we don’t know, there are different takes going around, maybe to a degree it’s a matter of interpretation. One man’s heated row is another’s healthy exchange of views.
“It does feel as though he’s closer to leaving than he’s ever been since joining Tottenham. I know there were those links with Real Madrid a few years ago but it always felt like he was going to stay. He was doing so well, he was loved there, he had a manager who completely trusted in him.
“The sense now is that he doesn’t feel that same love. We know from the Amazon documentary, Mourinho [called] him the lazy trainer. So yeah, it wouldn’t massively surprise me if he did move on in the next few weeks, maybe on a loan.”
TIF Thoughts…
Eccleshare certainly doesn’t feel that the future is looking bright for Alli at Spurs under Mourinho.
Do you think Alli could leave Spurs in the near future?
Yes
No
You would imagine that due to Spurs’ hectic schedule, the 24-year-old will still get some game time but given how he has started the season, you can make the argument that the Portuguese manager may not trust him to feature in the big games, so perhaps we will see the £57.6 million-rated man depart in the not too distant future.