Dele Alli is adamant that he still has a real “passion” for football that can take him to the summit of the game.
And Everton ’s new signing believes new boss Frank Lampard can bring the best out of him - to return him to levels he enjoyed under Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs, that saw him branded as a future great.
Alli clearly believes he suffered at Tottenham after Pochettino left, and that subsequent managers didn’t get the best out of him, insisting that the now PSG boss “gave him the platform” to show his talent.
Now, he is confident he has a manager in Lampard who understands him - and knows how to harness his attacking abilities, with the new Everton boss still the Premier League ’s top scoring midfielder of all time.
“I can learn so much from him,” he said of Lampard. “I will speak to him about that and the way he fought on the pitch and what he did to make the most of his talent.
“I am very ambitious and passionate, so feeling that from the manager drives you on to want to do well for not only them but the whole club.
“Especially as an attacking and creative player, you want to know you can express yourself and bring excitement to the game, with and without the ball.
“That’s what I want to do and the kind of player I am.”
Alli, in an emotional letter to Spurs fans when he left, said that Pochettino’s “trust and guidance in the early part of my career gave me confidence and platform to show what I can do.”
He lost his way under Jose Mourinho, and rarely played when Nuno Espirito Santo and then Antonio Conte came in, with all three employing fairly regimented, negative tactics.
Now though, Lampard has shown real faith in him by sanctioning a deal that could cost the Blues £40m, even though he has struggled for the past two seasons or more.
And Alli said: “As a player, the main thing is to feel wanted,” he said. “The owner Mr Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright were the first people I spoke to. I felt very comfortable and confident and wanted by them.
“I am very passionate when I am playing. It brings the best out of me when I play with aggression and on the front foot.
“Having all this…amazing teammates, a great manager and very passionate fans, it is a great platform to express yourself and do well.”
Alli is also confident that Lampard’s style is much more like Pochettino, and will serve him well:
“Working with Frank and the amazing players here, it’s a very attacking way of playing football, that’s what I like to do, to be on the front foot, win tackles, get in the box and score goals.
“I want to play and fight for the team and the Club and I am ready to do that. The whole thing about being a player is learning and improving and being the best you possibly can.
“Frank is an amazing manager and an amazing person. He scored a lot of goals from midfield, and that helps. He knows me very well as a player, I know him and his tactics and how he likes his teams to work.”
