Paul Merson has claimed that Dele Alli has ‘a chance’ to revive his career at Tottenham under Antonio Conte, as he told Sky Sports News (02/11/21 at 7:15 pm).
The Sky pundit suggested that Alli’s career is ‘fading away’ and the attack-minded midfielder needs someone to put their arm around him.
In truth, for how long is that going to be said? Towards the back end of Mauricio Pochettino reign, under Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo, the Englishman has been questioned.
This isn’t a case of Alli struggling under one manager or just going through a bad patch.
This bad run has been going on for several years and it’s clearly an issue with the player, rather than those who are coaching him and his teammates around him.
But despite all those struggles, Merson still thinks he has a future in North London and he can still do a job.
“I think Dele Alli has a chance,” said Merson. “If Dele Alli goes back to doing what Alli can do and what he’s best at, is making runs and scoring goals.
“You hope that the penny drops with the lad. He might be one of them lads that needs his arm put around him and say ‘I need you in the team’.
“If I was the manager, that’s what I would be saying. I would put my arm around him and say ‘I need you in the team’.
“You were playing for England and were one of the first-choices. But this kids career is just going to fade away. Where do you go after Tottenham? You’re not going to Manchester United, Liverpool, Man City or Chelsea. After that, you are drifting bottom half.”
Alli had a no-nonsense coach in Mourinho who told the player exactly what he felt about him, especially the manner in which he trained.
Mourinho has never been the type of manager to put his arm around somebody, instead, he opts to show some tough love to those who aren’t doing what he desires.
The man who has since been appointed by Fabio Paratici and Daniel Levy is probably going to be a lot tougher than the now-Roma boss.
And if the former MK Dons academy product isn’t pulling his weight, then it won’t be a surprise to see Alli out of the door by January.
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