Everton: Dele Alli alarm bells rang after what he did at Finch Farm last summer
Reports from within the Everton camp have suggested alarm bells around the approach of Dele Alli from the outset of this season, as reported by the Sunday Mirror.
Alli faces a very uncertain future following a string of controversial incidents, following his return to England after his loan stint in Turkey ended prematurely.
The 27-year-old is contracted at Goodison Park until the end of next season but faces a mammoth task to get back into contention under Sean Dyche.
After a positive end to the previous campaign, hopes were high that the England international could kick on to be a key figure for Frank Lampard on Merseyside. That did not materialise to say the least.
“For some inside the club’s Finch Farm training centre, the alarm bells rang when he clocked in last Summer with his fingernails adorned with garish varnish,” The Sunday Mirror reported via their print edition [page 72, 23 April].
“The training sessions did not match that flamboyance and, after two substitute appearances, he was off to Turkey to join Besiktas on loan.”
Loud and clear
Another year, another battle for the Toffees to avoid relegation. These are troubled times for Everton and now Dyche is the latest manager at the helm tasked with charting a course to safer waters.
The next few weeks will be full of fear and anxiety, such is the difficult position at the bottom of the Premier League table in which the Evertonians need a hero or two to emerge, on the pitch.
Alli will certainly not be one of those. He should have been a player to properly grace the Goodison pitch but the fact he is at the club in the first place, speaks volumes.
As a supremely talented player, his fall from grace and those previous lofty heights is ongoing and if he is not careful, it will be a freefall.
The next step will be pivotal for his overall career. The alarm bells are ringing out loud and clear.