Everton midfielder Dele Alli has spoken out to deny claims that he has gone 'AWOL' from Besiktas.
On Wednesday afternoon quotes emerged from Besiktas manager Senol Gunes claiming that Dele had not returned to training and that he couldn't be contacted.
"Dele Alli could not come at this time. It's raining, I guess that's why he couldn't come," Gunes said. "We're trying to hear from him. We could not reach him by phone. Hopefully he didn't have an accident."
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However, Dele's representatives have confirmed to the ECHO that the 37-cap England international had been given permission by Besiktas to travel to London for a doctor's appointment.
And hours after the initial speculation emerged, Dele took to his Instagram stories to deny the story. He wrote: "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."
Everton reached an agreement with the Turkish outfit at the end of August, which would see the former Tottenham Hotspur playmaker test himself in the Super Lig. However, his time with Kara Kartallar has not worked out.
In January, he was criticised by his temporary boss after being left on the bench for Besiktas' Turkish Cup penalty shoot-out defeat to Ankaragucu. “Dele Alli has had a good career, but he doesn't deserve to play at the moment," Gunes told the media after the game.
It wasn't the first time that the former Turkey manager had dished out harsh words to Dele, who joined Everton on a permanent deal from Spurs in January 2022. Gunes previously said: "Let’s not discuss Dele Alli as a player, but he is below expectations in terms of efficiency.”
As things stand Dele is set to return to Everton at the end of the season when his loan spell ends.
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