Dele Alli’s move to Everton could revitalise his stagnating career, writes Oliver Keohane.
The year was 2017, Spurs had just beaten Real Madrid 3-1 and young star Dele Alli contributed two of the three goals. Frank Lampard made a statement on the starlet, hailing him as one of the best young players in the world.
That was five years ago and Alli’s trajectory has not been the one that many expected. But here he is, signed to Everton to play under a new manager, none other than Lampard, after seven years at Tottenham in which he fired for two seasons but then faded steadily.
In his early 20s, Alli had two of the most promising and potent seasons in Premier League history. In 2016-2017 he scored 10 goals and made seven assists as he began to find his groove as an attacking midfielder. He could finish with as much finesse as a striker and could dance his way through the high press to feed short chips and long balls to Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min.
Over the course of the 2017-2018 Premier League season, Alli scored an incredible 18 goals as a midfielder and made 10 assists. It was the season in which Harry Kane scored 30 goals and Spurs finished third and the young playmaker was a huge part of that success.
But then came the slow descent into indifference, a player neither performing terribly nor in any way living up to the promise of his early performances in a Spurs jersey. Late in 2019 Jose Mourinho was brought in to fix Spurs’ stagnation and the ‘Special One’ made it clear from day one that he felt Alli was not performing to the best of his ability.
Mourinho combined criticism with encouragement and initially got more out of the player, who was arguably one of Spurs’ best attacking players in the early stages of the Portuguese coach’s tenure. But, as the season went on, Alli returned to the lethargic displays he put on under Mauricio Pochettino and he ended the season with 15 appearances – eight of which were from the bench – and zero goals.
But the flip side of the situation is that Alli is only 26. Though that may not be young by football’s ever-increasing standards, it certainly isn’t old. The chance of a new lease on life under Frank Lampard is not out of the question for Alli, who will be hungry to show his worth after being snubbed by Spurs. ‘I just want to be happy playing football,’ he told Sky Sports. It’s the right place to start because any sportsman playing with a smile on their face first will more than likely put in better performances.
Though Everton has been battling at the wrong end of the table for most of the season, signing Alli – alongside former Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek – is an exciting prospect.
Starved of game time at United, Van de Beek can only benefit from an extended run in the first team. Playing alongside Alli will give the former Spurs man the freedom to roam the way he did between 2016-2018 and hopefully rekindle that scintillating form.
What will hopefully characterise Alli’s resurgence at Everton is freedom. Freedom of the pressure weighed on him at Spurs, freedom to play his natural game next to Van De Beek, and also an unwavering belief from Lampard who backed him so many years ago.
Alli came under immediate criticism from ex-players and the public upon signing for Everton but Lampard came straight back with a statement of intent in backing him. ‘My personal opinion is that I don’t care what car he drives, what clothes he wears, as long as I get a lad that comes to training every day, wants to improve every day, respects the club, respects his team-mates and then produces and gives everything to produce.’
The hope is that Alli lives up to those expectations because it would be one of football’s biggest disappointments in recent years if Alli is remembered for a fall from grace rather than a return to it.
Fast Facts
Full Name: Dele Alli
Date of Birth: 11 April 1996
Place of Birth: Milton Keynes
Height: 1.88m
Position: Midfielder
Number: 36