Dele Alli has endured another forgettable campaign - and has now been told that dropping down a division may help him save his career.
The 25-year-old has made just six Premier League appearances since moving to Everton in January - each outing as a substitute. Everton didn't pay a fee upfront for him, but did agree to pay Tottenham a sum that could rise to £40million if various performance related incentives were met - already that looks incredibly unlikely.
His poor form has coincided with the Toffees dropping to within three points of the top flight relegation places. Frank Lampard's side do have games in hand over many of their drop rivals but they've won just twice in the last 12 outings. The prospect of a first season outside the top flight since 1954 will send shivers down the spines of Everton fans but for Alli, he has been told it may be the perfect way to kickstart his ailing career.
Darren Bent, the former England, Spurs and Sunderland striker, believes Alli may need to take one step back to take two steps forward. Speaking on talkSPORT, Bent said of Alli: "I thought that him going to Everton, in fresh surroundings and with a new start, would kick him back into life. A bit of hunger, completely different circumstances, different manager. But it just hasn't happened.
"What might need to happen - and yes it would be a knock on his pride, but at the end of the day he's not playing very well - is maybe he needs to go down a division. Go to the Championship and completely rip it up. If Everton were to go down, you'd expect him to absolutely rip it up because he'd be the best player in that division.
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"He'd then get a bit of confidence and then maybe come back up. At the minute he can't seem to get himself going. If they go down, what Premier League club right now would buy him?"
Speaking earlier this month about Alli, Lampard said he believes the player still has plenty to offer in the run-in. “I really have that massive belief in him as a player,” he said. “So I don’t think we have to panic, to rush. When we signed Dele I certainly saw it as a long-term plan.
"At the moment he has contributed and he has to be patient and wait for his time to start. I think most players want to come and speak to you, and you expect that because most players have the desire to play. With Dele and the other players I try to have a relationship where I pre-empt that at times and speak with them regularly. So those conversations are always open.
"Since Dele has been here I cannot question how he has trained every single day, so it will be working with myself and working on things he can improve on to be the player we want him to be. He has got huge talent, his attitude has been great, he has been available for four games and he has come on in all of those and made an impact. His time will absolutely come to start games.”
Everton resume their Premier League campaign with a trip to West Ham on Sunday.
