Dele Alli has disputed claims from his manager that he has ‘gone missing’ from Besiktas training.
The former England midfielder, who has struggled since making the move to the Turkish giants, was accused of not returning to training on Wednesday by Senol Gunes. But in a post on social media, Dele has said: "Hey guys just had loads of messages so wanted to clear something up. The club gave me permission to attend a doctor's appointment today. I'm due back in training tomorrow as normal."
Dele was forced to issue a statement after Gunes publicly criticised the 26-year-old, suggesting he had taken an unauthorised extended absence. "We gave Dele Alli permission for a small break, he hasn't come back yet. It's raining, that's probably why he didn't come. We're trying to find out where he is."
The ex-Tottenham star joined Besiktas on a season-long loan from Everton and hoped to rebuild his reputation away from the glare of the Premier League. But he has managed just two goals in 13 appearances and has been out of favour since the appointment of Gunes in October.
Since he replaced Valerin ismael in the dugout, Dele has made just four appearances, with reports in Turkey suggesting he won’t play for the club again. His current situation is the latest nadir in a career which had started in stunning fashion.
Signed from MK Dons in the summer of 2015, Dele quickly became one of the stars of the Premier League, winning the PFA Young Player of the Year in both 2016 and 2017. At that point, he was also a regular on the international stage and played a key role as England reached the World Cup semi final in 2018.
But after Mauricio Pochettino was replaced by Jose Mourinho at Spurs, his career appeared to hit the skids indefinitely. Mourinho struggled to get the best out of him and infamously told him to up his standards, warning him that “time flies.”
Spurs eventually made the decision to allow him to leave the club on a free last January, joining Everton on the same day Frank Lampard was appointed as manager. But Lampard, like Mourinho before him, failed to spark his best form and after half-a-season, they sanctioned the move to Besiktas.
Dele still has one year remaining on his current Everton deal and it remains to be seen how Toffees boss Sean Dyche will approach his situation in the summer. It looks all but certain that he will be leaving Turkey though, with the relationship between manager and player appearing to be at an all-time low.
Dyche revealed that he would look into the loanee's situation during the current international break: "I’ll wait until the international break, because the news is suggesting that he’s not going to be involved there," he explained.
“We’ll have to wait and see and judge things in the summer now, when we all get back together. Because I’m pretty sure that he’s contracted until the end of the season there [Besiktas], so we’ll pick that up during the international break.”
