Graeme Souness has stated Everton’s Dele Alli is ‘dying off that forever’ after it emerged ‘Real Madrid were on the phone to his agent’ when he was Tottenham.
That was the claim made by, ex-Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe, who stated that Alli, now struggling at Everton, told him that a number of years ago.
During the January transfer window, Alli left Spurs to try and pick up his career in the colours of relegation-threatened Everton.
Fast forward to today, the Toffees are still struggling, losing games, left, right and centre, yet Alli, who once scored 18 goals from midfield for Tottenham, can’t even earn minutes, nevermind a start for Frank Lampard.
Before Souness was told about Real Madrid’s previous interest in Alli, he commented on the player’s decline, as he told Sky Sports (03/04/22 at 1:55 pm).
“Dele Alli is a mystery to me,” said Souness. “When he broke into the first-team at Tottenham. I went big. I thought he was destined to be a proper player.
“He had a couple of years where he was good, getting goals and working his socks off for the team. Then, it’s all evaporated. There have been a lot of serious managers that have looked at him and made their minds up on him.
“For me, if I was advising him, then I would tell him ‘you are in the last chance saloon’. If it doesn’t work out for him at Everton, where does he go after that? Certainly not a big club. Everton are a big club. He should grab it with both hands.
“It’s one of two things. He has his eye taken off the ball, for whatever reasons. He has lost interest in football. At his age, really?!
After Defoe shared the Madrid/Alli story, Souness issued this response: “He’s dying off that forever because that’s not going to happen anytime soon.”
Alli is a Premier League player, at this moment in time, but given the road he is going down, it won’t last long.
For a number of years, he has produced performances that aren’t worthy of Premier League football, and if Everton part ways with him, then there aren’t many places to go.
At the 2018 World Cup, Alli was a key member of Gareth Southgate’s squad, yet now he wouldn’t even get into a 50-man squad if it was selected.
But the 37-capped England man only has himself to blame and it doesn’t seem previous kicks up the backside, from the likes of Jose Mourinho, aren’t working.
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