Everton flop Dele Alli appears to be running out of options to save his career as his loan spell goes from bad to worse. The former England international has suffered a hefty fall from grace since his days of playing for Mauricio Pochettino.
Alli, 25, joined Everton on the final day of the January transfer window after being frozen out by three straight Tottenham managers. Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte all failed to get the best out of him before he was allowed to depart.
The attacker played the best football of his career under Pochettino as a second striker, running in behind Harry Kane. However, for various reasons he's never been able to replicate the success.
Numerous pundits have had their say on what Alli should do, and Mirror Football has taken a look at four options available to him.
Stay at Everton
The most likely scenario for Alli is that he stays put at Goodison Park and reignites his career there. The midfielder cited a desire to play for Frank Lampard after joining the Toffees, and there are few better role models around for him.
Everton are fighting for their lives in the Premier League, and are crying out for someone with top-level ability to help carry them out of the relegation fight they're currently in.
Alli's contract runs until 2024, and the potential £40million transfer fee Everton will fork out for him proves they have faith that he can rediscover his best years at the club.
Move abroad
If things don't work out at Everton, it's entirely likely Alli could opt to move abroad in an attempt to rediscover his ability. Alli had been tentatively linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain after Mauricio Pochettino moved to the French capital.
PSG appeared to have everything in place to sign Alli back in the January 2021 transfer window, but at the last hour Spurs decided they didn't want to part ways with the star they'd signed from League One and scrapped the deal.
But now, a move to the continent could be the best thing for him, giving him a change of scenery and playing in a new style of football could be tempting to the former England international.
Championship move
Everton could well find themselves in the Championship next season if they don't turn things around quickly, and playing in the second tier seems inconceivable for a player who shone at the 2018 World Cup.
But Darren Bent believes it could end up being a blessing in disguise for Alli, an explained that being the best player in the league could give him a much-needed confidence boost.
"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," he said. "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."
Retire
It would be a terrible shame to see Alli retire in what should be the prime years of his career, but Stan Collymore believes that could be the best thing for him.
Writing for Mirror Football, Collymore explained that if he doesn't have the passion anymore, he should follow Ashley Bartey's lead and quit.
Collymore wrote: "It would be unfair to do that if he doesn’t have the appetite. He has to be honest. If he wants to drift, go backpacking around the world and spend the good few quid he’s earned. Maybe he needs to have an Ash Barty moment. So many tennis players and swimmers get to their mid-20s and think they’ve been doing sport for years. They ask: why put myself through it? It’s not important anymore."
