Harry Kane’s Twitter response as Dele Alli departs for Everton
England captain Harry Kane has responded to the last-minute January transfer to Everton of his long-time Tottenham teammate Dele Alli.
The midfielder became Frank Lampard’s first permanent signing since being appointed manager at Goodison in a deadline day deal.
The new Toffee was a key man alongside his international teammate in North London during a period of success for Spurs, particularly under Mauricio Pochettino.
Writing on his personal Twitter account, the Premier League goalscorer said: “Good luck on your next chapter @dele_official. We’ve had some great memories together over the past 7 years.
“Thank you for everything you have given me and the club! See you soon”.
The message shows the high esteem Kane holds his teammate in for the contributions he made to Tottenham.
Return to form
The cheerful nature of the message is perhaps a signifier of how things went sour for Dele over the previous couple of years.
Once a star in the Premier League and one of the first names on the team sheet for England boss Gareth Southgate, his form and appearances have taken a nose dive since the Argentinian manager was replaced by Jose Mourinho.
The former two-time PFA Young Player of the Year is far from the first player to fall foul of the Portuguese manager’s late-career strategy of bombing out a popular player upon arrival, with Iker Casillas, Juan Mata and Luke Shaw similarly treated.
Toffees fans will hope that it was a combination of the Special One and the subsequent upheaval at Spurs that contributed to the drop off for their new man.
At his best he has all the tools to be an influential member of the first team, but there has not been much evidence of that talent recently.
The move is reportedly worth up to £40million if he does return to form (Sky Sports), but if he becomes the player again that he was a few seasons ago he will be worth every penny.
In other Everton news, these five players could reportedly be sold in the summer.