Celtic were following the Tottenham star’s progress before he moved to White Hart Lane.
Tottenham’s Dele Alli scores their third goal
Tottenham Hotspur star Dele Alli could have been playing for Celtic had the Scottish giants acted upon their interest in the midfielder, with the Glasgow club scouting the England international heavily while he was at MK Dons, according to Falkirk manager Peter Houston, as said to BBC Sportsound and reported by the Scotsman.
Houston used to be a scout at Celtic before taking the managerial position at Falkirk, and claimed that Celtic had a list of several talented youngsters from across Britain, which had Alli’s name on it when he was a 17-year-old.
England’s Dele Alli in action
The list was compiled by the head of development at Celtic in John Park, and Alli was subjected to several scouting missions by the Scottish club after he worked his way into the MK Dons first team.
Speaking about the interest, Houston confirmed that Alli was watched by Celtic and was on Park’s list, but evidently Celtic didn’t see enough in Alli to make a concrete offer – something which Houston believes they regret now at Parkhead.
Tottenham’s Dele Alli celebrates scoring their second goal
“I used to work for a short spell at Celtic, and John Park had a list of players and Dele Alli was on that list,” Houston said to BBC Sportsound, as reported by the Scotsman.
“Celtic had watched him a couple of times as a youngster just after he’d managed to break through. I bet they wish they’d signed him.”
Tottenham’s Dele Alli shoots at goal
Instead of Celtic following up their scouting missions, Alli signed for Tottenham for £5m in 2015, as reported by BBC Sport, and the rest – as they say – is history, with Alli arguably becoming the best value for money buy in the Premier League era.
The 21-year-old has scored 32 in 96 appearances for Spurs in all competitions, as well as scoring twice in 17 England appearances, while Alli has also won the PFA Young Player of the Year award for the last two seasons.
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