Everton: Dele Alli told he can leave right away, MLS transfer only option as controversy emerges
Major League Soccer is the “only league” that Everton loanee Dele Alli can go to, according to Jason Burt, Chief Football Correspondent at The Telegraph.
The midfielder is enduring a difficult loan spell at Turkish club Besiktas, with their outspoken manager Senol Gunes highly critical of Alli in recent times.
It is well-known that Besiktas have no plans to permanently sign the 26-year-old, with the midfielder’s future at Everton also increasingly uncertain.
“Alli is on loan at Besiktas, who have already said they will not take up the option to sign him permanently, and as things stand is due to return to Everton at the end of this season,” Burt wrote in The Telegraph.
“He has one more year left on his contract after joining from Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer in January 2022. His career has come under intense scrutiny in recent seasons.
“It is understood that Gunes has told Alli, who has played just 254 minutes in 2023, he can leave Besiktas now if he wants to – the only league he could potentially go to would appear to be the MLS – but the player wants to fight for his place and hopefully see out his loan spell.”
Fresh start
Alli is quickly becoming one of the most mentioned names in and around Goodison Park, but unfortunately it is for all the wrong reasons.
Many players have burst onto the scene at a young age like Alli, but not many have endured as dramatic a downfall as the former England international.
He seemingly had the world at his feet while at Spurs, but for various reasons is quickly throwing away a once-promising career.
There is, however, still some hope that Alli can become the player he once was, and that could begin with a move to MLS.
In years gone by, the league has definitely represented a comfy retirement home for many veterans, with the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Thierry Henry among many others joining US-based clubs at the end of their glittering careers.
But a handful of recent transfers involving somewhat younger players, including that of 23-year-old Riqui Puig from Barcelona to LA Galaxy and 27-year-old Ryan Gauld from Farense to Vancouver Whitecaps, may just provide Alli with a nudge towards a making fresh start in MLS.