Dele started off his footballing career at City colts, before joining MK Dons youth academy at the age of 11. From young, Alli has been blessed with the burden of versatility. I call it a burden because often today we see players with versatility not holding one position but instead are moved around to accommodate other players. If this is the case, how can one fulfil their potential? Notable examples include Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and I have a small feeling that will come of Yung Philly Foden……I pray it doesn’t but time will tell. Despite his versatility, Ali broke through at MK Dons in a more favoured midfield position. Despite his frail physique, he had that tenacious side, that bite that dawg in him which is great to see at a time when the game is considered ‘lotion soft’ compared to previous eras. Confidence was never in question; his first professional touch was a backheel in his own half.
After loads of injuries in 2013, the latter half of the season was when he established himself as a regular in the squad for the Dons. Dele possessed insane talent and his hattrick, aged just 17 years and 11 months, against Notts County was a testament to that. He hadn’t even completed his A levels and he was out here making senior players contemplate retirement. The only way was up for Dele, who finished the 13/14 season with a respectable return of 33 games and 6 goals in the league at just 18 years of age.
At the start of the 14/15 season, he became a regular starter for MK Dons after some senior departures in the midfield department. Dele rose to the challenge and repaid his manager’s faith in him with a string of impressive displays, the most notable coming in a 4-0 thrashing of Man United in what is now called the Carabao Cup. Although the United team was full of young prospects and managed by Louis Van Gaal, Dele was instrumental in the victory, taking his opportunity of mixing it with a top premier league team live on Sky Sports. With many pundits and scouts in attendance, he announced himself to the British public. If there was a discussion about British wonderkids, you can chat about Sterling and Barkley but Dele began to forge a presence in that conversation. This proved true as not too long after, Dele had some buzz in the inner football circles. MK Dons awarded Dele with a contract extension due to his impressive performances but the club could not pretend that Dele’s stocks were not reaching a high. Cashing in on the prodigy was looking like the most viable option.
Many clubs were interested in Dele but did not put a bid in as they wanted to see more from him. In other words, they didn’t believe in him….. SPURS DID. Spurs snapped up the starlet in a £5 million deal - a ‘Low risk high reward’ signing. Dele was about to hit the bright lights of White Hart Lane but had to be humble and continue his development at MK for the rest of the season. He finished that season as Young player of the year, helping his boyhood team to automatic promotion to the Championship. In hindsight, this is one of the most shrewd pieces of business conducted in the 2010s. The signing may have not made Spurs a shoo-in for the top 4 let alone title contenders but they knew they had signed, at the time, a diamond in the rough. In the words of Thug, Dele had the plan but he didn’t have the platform.
Now as a 19 year old with League 1 experience, viewers wanted to see if he could cope in the premier league. He passed the eye test and to those who love the G/a, he had that too. In his debut season, he finished the season with 10 goals and 10 assists and, to my knowledge, remains the only teenager to have a 10/10 season in the prem in terms of goals and assists. He also had many memorable moments during that season: named man of the match in his first North London derby, scored a 30-yard screamer on his first senior England start, was awarded premier league goal of the season with an audacious volley against Crystal Palace, featured in the league’s team of the year and was awarded Young player of the year. To go from League 1 YPOY to premier league YPOY in back-to-back years should not be understated. What he was doing was unprecedented. He was the 2010s Jude Bellingham.
Now onto his sophomore prem season, he made sure any word of fluke was far from his name. Playing just off Harry Kane saw Alli’s goal involvement increase with him scoring 18 goals and assisting 7 in the league alone. Like AJ, it was so nice he had to do it twice snapping up his 2nd consecutive Prem YPOY and third in 3 years. Pochetino used the 4231 formation where Alli wasn’t playing as a modern-day number 10 but more of a SS (if you played PES, you know what I’m saying). His play did not mirror the Ozil’s and Silva’s of the world but his style connected with Kane’s like Bluetooth. The combination of Kane’s clinical finishing and Alli’s movement proved a deadly attacking partnership. Alli utilised runs beyond Kane who could drop deep and deliver weighted passes, only rivalled by Pogba and De Bruyne in my opinion. Alli did this because he had great spatial awareness, constantly scanning and understanding the most dangerous spaces on the pitch. This play suited Alli, contrasting the role he played under Mourinho who took over in the 19/20 season. The special one prioritised building Son and Kane’s partnership, leaving Ali to reinvent himself as a deeper midfielder. Alli was used to playing with Eriksen and Kane but the former moving to Inter Milan shifted the creative burden onto Alli’s shoulders. As Spurs are considered a big 6 team, they are expected to have more possession in majority of league games but Mournho has never been known for playing expansive football, instead setting up in a pragmatic way that allows individual brilliance to flourish. Alli is competent on the ball, often coming deep to create space for runners or just create a passing option but he isn’t the player to create something out of nothing with time on the ball and two lines of defence in front of him – unlike, perhaps, Eriksen. This transition was the catalyst for his decline in my opinion.
Lacking confidence, he has seemed to lose passion for ball with the player often accused of being lazy on the pitch. A player, who not so long ago was considered a Steven Gerrard regen, with the goalscoring prowess of Lampard had some way found himself dropped from England and sitting on the bench for Spurs. They finally realised that they couldn’t get anything more out of Alli so they sold him to Everton in the January transfer window of 2022. Fast forward to now, Dele and I have the same chance of getting in that England world cup squad….no chance. He’s moved to Besiktas on loan after a failed 6 months at Everton. Lampard, a premier league great midfielder, believed he could revive what once was but Frank soon thought, honestly nevermind because nothing was the same with Dele. He’s lost that drive, that edge to his game that made Sir Alex recommend him to the United Board. Sir Alex said he had that stardust, that united makeup but right now he could not be further from that. He just needs to get back to being Dele: a tenacious midfielder who leaves it all out there with or without a goal involvement. His decline did coincide with Pochetino leaving Spurs so maybe they might have to run that back but for now, the 27 year old is out of the British eye and hopefully, he can turn back time and revitalise what once was a sensational career. $DELECOIN has officially reached a new low but time will tell if we should buy the dip.