Something ‘not right’ with Everton midfielder Dele Alli – Dean Saunders
Dean Saunders believes that something is “not right” with Everton attacking midfielder Dele Alli.
The England international has been linked with a move away from the club in the ongoing transfer window with Turkish side Besiktas leading the charge.
Saunders, while speaking on talkSPORT, stated that the midfielder must be doing something wrong which made manager Frank Lampard opt to play everyone over him.
“I remember Alli playing for MK Dons and I followed his career because I was the manager playing against him,” he said. “I used to think he is a good player. He got to the end of the crosses, sneaked in, made great runs, had a clever movement.
“He has gone to Spurs. He is 26 and something is not right. He has gone to Everton. Lampard started him in one game. He signed him and watches him train every day but he has played everybody in the midfield bar Alli.
“He doesn’t bring him on when he needs a goal. He has got 100 goals in his career. Frank is watching him train every day. Its either something mentally not quite right with him or is he injured physically or can he not run like he used to be or has he lost his hunger?”
Big loss
Alli’s case will always remain a mystery in English football as he arrived with so many expectations but his career fell apart without any real reason behind it.
The 26-year-old set the world alight after moving to Tottenham Hotspur in the January transfer window of 2015 from MK Dons in a deal worth £5.97 million.
In his time for the North London-based club, the attacking midfielder managed to score 67 times and provided 61 assists in 269 matches across all competitions [Transfermarkt].
However, his last two years with Spurs saw numbers down considerably which led to his departure from the club and he made a move to Everton.
But even there, he never really managed to showcase what people wanted to see from him as he did in the earlier part of his career.
For his fans, it will be painful to see such a talented player’s career on a decline so early and it will be interesting to see whether a move to Turkey will help Alli rejuvenate his career.