Alli has only found the back of the net three times this season but Jermaine Jenas reckons he knows why.
Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jermaine Jenas says Dele Alli’s difficult season is more to do with the team’s collective struggles rather than his individual performances, the Evening Standard reports.
The former MK Dons dynamo cruised to the PFA Player of the Year award after a dream debut campaign in the top flight, scoring 10 goals in 33 Premier League appearances and helping spearhead Spurs’ return to the Champions League after a six season absence.
Alli also became an essential member of Roy Hodgson’s England squad prior to Euro 2016, thumping home a long-range screamer against France at Wembley before inspiring a famous 3-2 win in Berlin against Germany.
However, the 20-year-old has failed to hit the same heights in 2016/17, though he is hardly alone in that with the likes of Christian Eriksen and Eric Dier struggling to replicate their influence of the previous campaign.
Nonetheless, former Tottenham midfielder Jenas believes Alli should not be overly critical of his own performances.
“I think he’s being harsh on himself. I think it’s more of a Spurs issue – I don’t think the team is playing as well,” the former England international told BBC Radio 5 live, cited by the Evening Standard.
“I think he’s doing alright and if he puts away half the chances that he misses, which he’s very self-critical about, we could be talking about Dele Alli on eight or nine goals already.”
As it stands, Alli has only found the back of the net three times this season although those trademark drifting runs from deep remain a key part of his game.
And Jenas, a fellow winner of the PFA Player of the Year award, is well placed to dispense such advice to a player who has everything it takes to be the Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard of his generation.
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