Garth Crooks makes prediction about Tottenham star Dele Alli

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Spurs earned a comfortable 2-0 win over Leicester City.

Garth Crooks has claimed in his BBC Sport Team of the Week column that Dele Alli could become a Tottenham Hotspur captain in the future after another excellent display against Leicester City.

The 22-year-old had struggled at the start of the season, with many of the belief that the success of Spurs’ players at the World Cup in Russia has tired the players out – instead of giving them a much-needed rest.

But in recent matches, Alli has begun to find his form again after overcoming a hamstring injury. A goal and an assist in the excellent win over Chelsea, Alli provided the crucial assist for Christian Eriksen’s strike against Inter Milan.

Alli scored his 50th goal in all competitions as Spurs earned a 2-0 win over Claude Puel’s Leicester, with Son Heung-min opening the scoring early in the second half. Ex-Spurs man Crooks reckons Alli can become the club’s new skipper.

“When Dele Alli is in this mood, he looks tremendous. The problem is we’ve not seen him play with the same swagger and authority as he showed against Leicester for some time,” Crooks said.

“With Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane left out of the Spurs line-up, in readiness for their fixture against Barcelona, it was Alli who played like a grown-up and, dare I say it, on this performance looked a future captain in the making.”

Becoming captain would see Alli replace goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, though the 31-year-old is expected to remain the Spurs skipper for the foreseeable future.

Alli scored a diving header at the back post to put Spurs 2-0 up, finding the back of the net past Kasper Schmeichel – almost identical to his first Spurs goal that saw him do exactly the same against Leicester in August 2015.

Spurs sit in third place in the Premier League table after the win, five points behind Manchester City and six behind Liverpool, who became the new leaders after City lost to Chelsea.

The north Londoners travel to Spain to take on the likes of Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique and Luis Suarez on Tuesday night in a crucial Champions League clash. Spurs have to win to have any chance of qualifying for the knockout phase.