Glenn Hoddle has told The Sun that Dele Alli can offer Tottenham Hotspur a ‘major asset’ when at his best, and urges Nuno Espirito Santo to rethink what role he sets the midfielder.
Alli has occupied a deeper role in the Spurs engine room since Daniel Levy hired Nuno this summer. The Portuguese has only trusted the 25-year-old with playing in a more attacking position twice over 11 appearances so far.
But the emergence of Oliver Skipp and a change in formation has come at Alli’s expense. Nuno has overlooked the 37-cap England international in each of Tottenham’s last three Premier League fixtures since hauling Alli off at half-time in defeat at Arsenal last month.
Hoddle still believes in Alli potential
Hoddle still believes Alli has the potential to rediscover his best form for Tottenham if Nuno rethinks his role. Noting the £100k-a-week playmaker can outscore Manchester City’s Phil Foden and Chelsea’s Mason Mount if played in the right position and given the right tasks.
“Dele is a major asset,” Hoddle insisted. “Playing at his best, he would score more goals than Foden and Mount. He is a midfielder who gets in the box. He is a box threat, rather than a deeper player who is a builder and you can build your game around.
“His biggest attribute is his ability to get into the box. And when he gets back to doing that, he will show us why he was so highly rated. But at the moment, he has lost his goalscoring ability and I don’t think he is playing in a role where he is being told to get into the box.”
Adding: “When Dele gets into the box, he is a wonderful player. You would want him in any team because goalscoring midfielders are hard to come by… He came back this summer with a really good attitude. He clearly wants to put it right and that’s half the battle.”
Nuno unlikely to listen to Hoddle suggestion
While Hoddle still backs Alli to shine in a Tottenham shirt, Nuno does not appear to agree. The Daily Mail report he will leave the midfielder out of Spurs’ matchday squad at Burnley in the Carabao Cup. He is not injured, simply overlooked for Wednesday’s Turf Moor trip.
Alli provided the assist for Harry Kane’s goal at Wolves in the previous round, before Bruno Lage’s side’s second-half equaliser. Failing to feature in the last 16 Clarets tie could see him play just 90-minutes in October, if also overlooked against Manchester United on Saturday.
Nuno handed Alli a starting role in Tottenham’s Europa Conference League loss at Vitesse Arnhem last week. A chance he ultimately wasted, having struggled to have much of an impact despite playing in the number 10 role Hoddle believes Alli is best suited to.
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