Stan Collymore: Early Dele Alli retirement on the cards amid latest Everton transfer speculation
Stan Collymore predicts midfielder Dele Alli could be retired by the time he turns 30 if he quits Everton to join Besiktas this summer.
Alli, 26, has been strongly linked with a move to the Turkish outfit with him failing to make a mark at Goodison Park after joining from Tottenham in January.
According to The Times on 16 August, the £100,000-a-week midfielder is weighing up whether to make a move to Istanbul.
Former Liverpool attacker Collymore has warned Alli against making the move, saying he could be retired in a few years’ time if he goes down the route of heading to Besiktas.
Writing for the Sunday People on 21 August (page 62 and 63), Collymore said: “Back in March, I said Dele Alli should consider retirement if things didn’t work out at Everton and, while I meant it, it doesn’t mean I like the position he’s now in.
“And instead of joining Besiktas, what I hope now is that he can find a club where he fits with the team and manager – even if on half his usual salary – and find the joy I found at Leicester.
“If he can, then he’s still got time to come back.
“But if he does go to Besiktas, he’ll be retired by 30, as I was after going to Bradford and Real Oviedo.”
His own doing
Alli has no one to blame but himself.
He’s had plenty of opportunities to restore his form for different managers and at different clubs but for one reason or another, he has failed.
The midfielder doesn’t have any injury issues to blame while he was overlooked by previous managers because of his own terrible form.
The, presumably, former England international has a long way back to be able to get to where he once was – one of the most promising footballers in the world.
Now, he’s an outcast at Everton and if things don’t go well for him in Turkey then we really do have to fear what’s to come for the ex-Tottenham man.
Collymore is probably right.
He’s speaking from experience too because his career was marred by certain controversies and his performances started to go down the drain at the back end of it.
At the age of 26, Alli should be playing for a big-six side, playing for his country, playing in Europe and winning silverware.
He can do some of that at Besiktas at least but in this country, who really cares about the Turkish Super Lig?