Besiktas manager Senol Gunes has claimed that Dele Alli has performed below expectations since his season-long loan move from Everton in the summer.
The 26-year-old joined the Turkish side in an attempt to resurrect his career after a disappointing couple of years in the Premier League. However, it is safe to say Alli hasn't had the greatest start to life at Besiktas, already struggling for form having scored just once in seven appearances so far.
Alli's only goal came in his second game for the club and he is currently enduring a drought in front of goal. The former Tottenham midfielder could be buoyed by a change of management at the club, though, after Gunes replaced outgoing boss Valerian Ismael last month.
But Gunes has outlined his views on Alli and his latest reality check for the player, who is fighting to reignite his career in Turkey. Ahead of Besiktas' mammoth clash at Galatasaray this weekend, Gunes said: "I couldn't affect the players [yet], now I can easily touch them, but we haven't touched Dele Alli yet. Let's not discuss Dele Alli as a player, but he is below expectations in terms of efficiency."
Alli's Tottenham Hotspur career came to an end in January, joining the Toffees in a deal potentially worth up to £40million. But he failed to impress Everton boss Frank Lampard at the back end of last season, prompting him to be offloaded to Besiktas in the summer.
Besiktas currently sit fourth in the Super Liga but are only one point behind Istanbul Basaksehir in the final European spot and trail leaders Fenerbache by four points, having played an extra game. Former manager Valerian Ismael leapt to Alli's defence last month in response to criticism from some quarters, despite his side's impressive form.
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"He [Alli] will shine in the upcoming matches and will prove his worth to the team," explained Ismael on October 14. "The critics will be ashamed, they are making a big mistake they forget that he’s just come out of injury. I have full trust in him and I promise we will all give him a standing ovation very soon."
Should he improve at Besiktas and Everton wish to give him another chance upon his scheduled return in the summer, Alli will only have one more year left to run on the original deal he signed with the Toffees. The reality is that it seems unlikely Everton will be any kind of hurry to get Alli back, with Lampard's side improved this season.
Whether it be due to poor form or injury struggles (he has missed two games in Turkey already with a muscle strain), there always seems to be something holding the midfielder back from the potential so many thought he once had nowadays. Alli scored 22 goals during the 2016/17 season for Tottenham - his best campaign to date.
