How Southgate’s warning to Alli after England outing could help Tottenham

Follow us on Google Discover

Could Gareth Southgate making Dele Alli’s England place seem less assured actually help out Spurs?

Gareth Southgate wants Dele Alli to “grow up” after the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder showed high levels of immaturity during the recent international break, reports the Times.

Southgate has challenged Alli to change his attitude both on and off the pitch with the England manager having been unimpressed with the 21-year-old over the past week.

The Spurs star came off the bench against the Netherlands in a 1-0 victory and was poor and then did not play at all during a 1-1 draw with Italy.

While that has been put down to Alli struggling for fitness, it has also been suggested that the Three Lions boss was proving a point – with both Jesse Lingard and Raheem Sterling impressing in his absence.

Could this help Spurs?

England now only have two more games until the 2018 World Cup in Russia starts with friendlies against Nigeria and Costa Rica in early June.

While Alli is almost certain to be in the squad for the tournament if fit, he had looked a certainty to be part of Southgate’s starting XI, but that now looks a lot more precarious.

The youngster is now back with Tottenham and if he is looking to prove Southgate wrong, then that could greatly help the North London team as they prepare for a race for Champions League qualification and an FA Cup semi-final with Manchester United.