Everton midfielder Dele Alli has once again been the subject of scrutiny for his poor play – or lack of it – by presenter Richard Keys.
The last few seasons have been tough for the former Spurs man. He has failed to produce on the pitch, and if you believe the rumours, on the training ground as well. Jose Mourinho described him as a ‘lazy guy in training‘ in the ‘All or Nothing: Tottenham’ Amazon documentary.
Things have not gotten better for the former England international since his January move under new boss Frank Lampard. Alli is yet to start in the Premier League for the Toffees and has only played 170 minutes since his arrival, contributing nothing in the form of goals and assists, with just a yellow card to his name. (WhoScored)
Now it seems as if former Sky Sports presenter Keys has weighed in on the Alli criticism through his blog. He wrote: “I’m afraid he’s gone. Poch, Mourinho, Nuno, and Conte have all failed to get a tune out of him. Lampard will as well. Dele will never be the same again.”
TIF Thoughts on Dele Alli…
As the seasons go on, it looks less and less likely that Alli will ever regain the form of his former self back in his early Spurs career, most notably the 2016/17 season where he racked up an impressive 22 goals and 13 assists in all competitions and looked certain to become a world-beater under Mauricio Pochettino.
Unfortunately for Alli, only five seasons on at the young age of 25, it seems that any chance of hitting that peak has gone. He currently cannot get game time in an Everton side that is battling relegation and is starved of a creative midfielder – something that Alli could have been.
Alli will need to do something quickly if he is to jumpstart his career under his new boss, who thrived as a player in a position Alli would as well. If he doesn’t, he is potentially doomed for the Championship just a few years on from playing in the Champions League final.