Former Tottenham Hotspur forward Darren Bent has backed a move to Premier League strugglers Newcastle United for Dele Alli, speaking to talkSPORT (14 December, 9.50am).
What do Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte all have in common?
Well, all three arrived at Spurs promising to hand Dele Alli the chance to rebuild his reputation.
But, like Mourinho and Nuno before him, Conte has gone from publicly hailing the England international to freezing him out of the first-team picture.
The former Chelsea boss described Alli as a player of ‘great potential’ just five weeks ago.
Flash forward to mid-December and the 25-year-old has played just two minutes in the top-flight since Conte’s appointment.
What’s more, he was subbed off 54 minutes into Tottenham’s humiliating 2-1 Conference League defeat to NS Mura, his only start of the Conte era.
Will Tottenham let Dele Alli join Newcastle United?
“I think he needs to go anywhere where he’s going to play football. I think Newcastle – they need players,” Bent said when asked about Alli’s future in North London.
According to The Athletic, Tottenham will let their £100,000-a-week misfit leave in the January transfer window.
A mid-season move to a club in the Premier League’s relegation zone would perhaps epitomise Alli’s dramatic fall from grace.
But, Newcastle, at least could offer one of the most naturally-talented English footballers of his generation the chance to jump-start his stalling career.
Eddie Howe, Newcastle’s manager, admitted that he tried to sign a young Alli during spells at both Bournemouth and Burnley (The Mirror).
“There’s a player still in there,” Bent adds.
“He’s fallen by the wayside, certainly from those first two seasons where he won back-to-back Young Player of the Year (awards).
“He was absolutely sensational.
“He’s lost his way a little bit. But I think if he went to Newcastle, focused on football and got himself back playing again, that’s the most important thing. I think that would work well for all parties.
“He is a good player. Get him to Newcastle.”
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