By Sam Stone

24th Jul, 2022 | 8:10pm

Everton team react significantly to Dele Alli during 4-2 Blackpool win

Dele Alli was shown support from his Everton teammates after scoring a preseason brace against Blackpool amid ongoing doubts surrounding his future.

Alli scored twice as the Toffees beat Blackpool 4-2 at Bloomfield Road in an improvement to their pre-season preparations.

Questions have continually been raised over the 26-year-old’s future since a misfiring start to his Everton career, but journalist Joe Thomas revealed (via Twitter) that every single Everton player hugged Alli after netting the Toffees’ third goal, suggesting he has plenty of support from within the squad.

Make or break

This feels like a make-or-break season for Alli after seeing his career stall badly at Tottenham and not properly kickstart since the beginning of his time at Everton.

Two goals for the former England international will be great for his confidence, especially after his awful miss during the Toffees preseason tour of America.

Alli certainly has the quality to be a gamechanger for Everton, with his early time at Tottenham demonstrating that he can be one of the best-attacking midfielders in the Premier League when he’s at his best.

If he can rediscover the form from his time at Spurs then he will be like a new signing for Frank Lampard to utilise in the upcoming campaign.

His performance in the crucial game that saw the Toffees avoid relegation against Crystal Palace displayed that he can still make an impact in the Premier League, and that there’s hope he will be able to be a crucial part of any success at Goodison Park next season.

A win for Everton against Blackpool on Sunday (24 July) was crucial for Lampard to build some confidence heading into the new season.

Let’s hope the winning habits continue when the Premier League season kicks off, and the two-goal rebound from the January signing is a signal of things to come.