Darren Bent has told talkSPORT that Dele Alli is ‘miles away’ from the levels he showed in his youth, and urges the Everton star to take onus for his form under boss Frank Lampard.
Alli has failed to establish himself as a key figure at Goodison Park since joining the Toffees in January. Blues chairman Bill Kenwright agreed a smart deal with Tottenham Hotspur for the England international, with Spurs owed £20m only after he reaches 20 appearances.
As Everton had already exited all cup competitions by the time of Alli’s arrival, he can only reach the threshold next season. Yet he may not reach the figure, either, as TEAMtalk note the Toffees are already weighing up cutting the 25-year-old loose at the end of the season.
Everton could end up owing Tottenham £40m for Alli if he stays at Goodison and achieves all performance-related add-ons. But that seems unlikely at present, having so far made all six of his appearances from the bench. He also failed to play in the Blues’ last three games.
Lampard did not use all three of his available substitutes as Everton lost against West Ham United and Burnley, either. Instead, only Anthony Gordon came off the bench at the Irons, while Demarai Gray and Salomon Rondon entered the action on Wednesday at Turf Moor.
Darren Bent feels Everton ace Dele Alli is now ‘miles away’ from his best levels
Alli’s troubles at Everton under Lampard show his continued fall from grace from the highs he once achieved with Tottenham. The MK Dons product scored 10 goals in his first year of Premier League football in 2015/16, before netting 18 and assisting another nine the next.
He then achieved a personal-best 11 assists in ‘17/18, along with nine goals. But he has not hit double figures for goals or offered more than four assists in a season since. Alli’s issues in Lampard’s Everton also mean he has only scored once and assisted once since 2019/20.
Bent feels now is the time that Alli must look in the mirror to find the cause of his decline. As he can no longer blame his coach with Lampard the fifth after Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte to try and revive the midfielder’s form.
“I thought if anyone could get the best out of him, it would be Frank Lampard,” Bent said. “Lampard played that position, there were similarities when Dele first broke through, he was a goalscoring midfielder.
“I thought Frank would kind of put his arm around him and go: ‘Let’s get you firing again’. But, for whatever reason, that just hasn’t happened. Dele, unfortunately, will have to look at himself.
“It can’t always be Pochettino at the end of his time at Tottenham, it can’t be Mourinho, it can’t be Nuno, it can’t be Conte, it can’t be Frank Lampard. At some stage, he’s got to look at himself and go: ‘Hold on, there’s a big difference here’.”
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