By Peter Lynch

26th May, 2023 | 12:40pm

Alex Iwobi shares Dele Alli verdict at Everton, Frank Lampard couldn’t ‘put his trust in him’

Alex Iwobi has shared an insight into the reasons behind Dele Alli’s failures at Everton.

The latter joined the Toffees last January, with Frank Lampard in the dugout at Goodison Park.

But Alli was quickly loaned out to Besiktas, with the midfielder since returning to Everton after a miserable loan spell in Turkey.

“With him, he will say it himself, when it comes to training, he’s not a training player, unless it’s a match in training and then you see Dele perform,” Iwobi said on FilthyFellas (1hr15m30s). “When it comes to training matches, he is a joke. 

“When it comes to drills, like running around the mannequin and passing, he tries, but he’s slow with it. When it comes to games, he will score, assist or something. 

“It was hard for him to play, because if you’re not doing it in training, and at the time, the manager needed reliable players. He couldn’t really put his trust in him. We all know Dele could have performed.”

Hope for Alli

Of course there are various reasons as to why Alli hasn’t quite cut it at Everton, but his latest insight from his teammate definitely makes things slightly clearer.

Iwobi has shone since his move to Merseyside from North London, having previously played for Arsenal, but the same cannot be said for Alli, who hasn’t hit the heights he reached at Tottenham.

The former England international really was one of the most exciting players in the Premier League and perhaps even further afield, but one poor decision after another has seen his career decline rapidly.

The midfielder is back in England, with some Toffees fans desperate to see him get back to his best on the pitch, although a good start would definitely be to put as much effort into training as possible.

It would be a real shame to see Alli throw away his career for good, with a summer exit from the Premier League a possibility in order to make sure that doesn’t happen.