Dele Alli once seemed to have the footballing world at his feet but the former Tottenham Hotspur has experienced a career downturn in recent years.
The ex-England international was a top star at Spurs making over 181 appearances for the North London side before sealing a move to Everton in 2022 after failing to break back in to the first team squad under beleaguered boss Antonio Conte. The Toffees moved to snap up the attacking midfielder in an initial free deal that could rise to a whopping £40million if all the terms of the agreement were hit by Alli's performances.
Yet the 27-year-old made just 13 appearances at Goodison over the last two seasons before being loaned to Besiktas and going AWOL from training after a fall out in Turkey. Alli moved to deny claims of a bust up and returned to the Premier League club to nurse an injury with fellow Toffees star Alex Iwobi explaining why it seems to have come crumbling down for the player with so much initial hype.
Iwobi insists Alli's application on the training ground, something Jose Mourinho branded 'lazy' in front of the TV cameras of an 'All or Nothing' documentary, was the reason he couldn't make the biggest impact on the pitch in Merseyside.
He told FilthyFellas: “With him, he will say it himself, he isn’t a training player. Unless it’s a match in training and then you see Dele perform.
"When it comes to training matches, he is a joke. When it comes to drills – he tries, but because he’s slow with it. When it comes to games, he will score and assist or something. It was hard for him to play. If you’re not just doing it in training, and at the time, the manager needed reliable players. He couldn’t really put his trust in him. We all know Dele could have performed.”
The relegation-threatened side will delay a decision on his future says gaffer Sean Dyche, but that fitness must come first for the 37-time capped star.
Speaking in April, he said: “I just got a sense that he wants to be back playing football and playing well. Decisions will be made over the next few days over whether he needs an op or not.
“So there isn’t anything other than getting him fit. I’ve heard all the noise, I’ve heard all the opinions and I’m pretty sure that you’re aware that I like to make my own. But he needs to get fit."
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