By George Overhill

18th Sep, 2023 | 9:00pm

Everton ace Dele Alli likely 'will never play for the club again' amid 'very harsh' release verdict - Paul Brown

Dele Alli isn’t going to be involved for Everton any time soon and it is “more likely that he will never play for the club again”, according to Paul Brown.

The former Daily Star journalist spoke to GIVEMESPORT (17 September) and said the Toffees couldn’t release the former England star this summer because that would have been “very harsh”, but amid a fight to return to fitness and with payments to Tottenham due after a few appearances it is a “long road back” and he doesn’t suit Sean Dyche’s team.

Dele spent last season on loan at Besiktas and then had hip surgery in the offseason, which he has already suffered one set back in the recovery from [Daily Mail, 9 August], while he revealed a number of off-field struggles in an emotional interview with Gary Neville (13 July).

Brown said: “I don’t think Everton could have released him. I think that would have been very harsh. He’s obviously there training, but we don’t really know what his fitness is like and we don’t know how close he is to being ready for the first-team.

“I do still think it’s a long road back for him. I don’t think he suits Sean Dyche or the way that Sean Dyche is trying to move the team forward. They are in danger of triggering further payments if they play him, so there isn’t really a big argument for throwing him back in there.

“I think he’s obviously going to get a chance to compete but, at this point, I would be very surprised if Dele Alli plays for Everton in the near future. I think it’s more likely that he will never play for the club again, but we’ll see.”

Premature

Yes it probably is unlikely that Dele becomes a factor in the Everton first team in the near future because of his rehab from injury, but it would be wrong to write him off already.

Assuming Dyche stays in charge of the club, which is far from guaranteed given the growing pressure from the outside and the suggestion from the manager himself that he’s not enjoyed himself so far, it may be more likely that the midfielder makes a return.

From a personal point of view Dele told Neville that Dyche had been very supportive of the difficulties he had been dealing with, and while personal and professional considerations are different the Everton boss does seem invested in getting him back to a good place.

If it were physically and financially viable it seems that this Toffees side it crying out for some of the craft and creativity that the 27-year-old can produce when on form.

Granted, when it is a difficult task for anyone to play confidently in this struggling side at the moment it doesn’t look like the best situation for Dele to arrive back into.

And a number of factors need to fall into place for it to happen, but the player himself gave some positive indications of his hopes for the future during the summer interview so it would be hasty to dismiss the possibility before he is even fully fit.

In other Everton news, Jim White reacts to “red flags to say the least” after what he heard about 777 Partners over the weekend.