Writing for iNews, Mark Douglas has shared an interesting update involving Tottenham, Everton and Dele Alli.
What’s the story?
Well, Douglas – who works as Northern Football Correspondent for iNews – claims that Everton will still owe Tottenham some money, even if they can shift the 26-year-old to Besiktas before he makes 20 appearances.
When striking a free transfer agreement in January, Spurs and the Toffees shook hands on a £10m payment if Dele goes on to play 20 games for the Merseysiders.
However, the England international now looks likely to join Besiktas, having made just 13 appearances for Everton.
Nevertheless, thanks to the savviness of Daniel Levy, Tottenham still look set to make a few million.
Douglas wrote: “Alli has been cleared to leave Everton for Besiktas, some way short of the 20 games that would require a £10m payment to Spurs on the transfer agreed back in January.
“It is not as simple as dodging the payment outright though. iNews understands that if the deal is agreed with the Turkish side, Everton will still have to pay Tottenham a significant proportion of the original fee agreed in another sign of Daniel Levy’s savvy dealing.”
It isn’t exactly the £100m or more that many expected Tottenham to receive for Dele after his sensational start to life in the Premier League, although it is better than nothing for the north Londoners.
Dele Alli has time to rediscover Tottenham form
In our view, it is sad to see Dele nearing a move to Besiktas.
The Milton Keynes-born midfielder looked set to hit the summit of world football after scoring 18 Premier League goals at the age of just 21 in the 2016/17 campaign – more than Eden Hazard and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
However – for reasons unbeknownst to us – things just haven’t worked out for Dele.
In fairness, Levy’s decision to hire José Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte all in the space of two years probably didn’t help – it must have been tough to adjust to such an unsettled environment.
At the age of 26, Dele still has time to turn things around – hopefully, he becomes a star in Turkey, and we can see him back on these shores soon.
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