Stan Collymore delivers ‘brutal’ Dele Alli verdict after new developments on Everton midfielder in past 24-hours
It is “obvious” that Dele Alli needs help for the “brutal” situation of having problems in a public arena, Stan Collymore has said of the Everton man.
The former England star has returned to the UK after his loan at Besiktas came to a premature end amid injury and an unhappy manager in Senol Gunes [BBC Sport, 7 April].
An image has since emerged on Monday [Mirror, 10 April] of the 26-year-old with a balloon to his mouth, supposedly filled with laughing gas, prompting a new wave of speculation over his situation, which former Nottingham Forest and Liverpool striker Collymore responded to with concern.
Posting on his personal Twitter account Collymore wrote: “Dele is an adult, so his choices are his responsibility.
“But if football is serious about supporting players then the PFA/FA need to be helping him.
“In a public arena, having problems is brutal, because everyone knows. Let’s help him, it’s obvious he needs it.”
Difficult
The image in itself hardly marks Dele out since a number players have been pictured in similar situations, but clearly something is behind his descent from genuine Premier League star at Tottenham to virtual afterthought now.
His motivation to be a top level footballer is presumably nowhere near what it used to be, and whether that is due to personal issues or just losing the drive required to remain at the top only he and those close to him will know.
The fact that he is still apparently being paid huge money [Mail, 4 April] complicates matters and there will likely come a point where Everton, or whoever else, may look to find an agreement to no longer do so.
If his heart is simply not in it any longer then that is his choice, but if the past few seasons are a result of private issues then Collymore is right.
Whatever money he is on it will be extremely difficult to cope with the endless pressure of dealing with it in the public eye, so those who have an interest in the situation should look to provide help.
It would be a huge surprise to see Dele become a factor back at Everton again but if Collymore is right and the former star does have problems to deal with then the support needs to be focused on the person more than the player now.