Eric Dier has told Football London that he is sure Dele Alli will put in the required work to get back into Tottenham Hotspur’s team.
Alli has fallen out of favour at Spurs recently, with Jose Mourinho often preferring other options.
Alli is now struggling just to make it into Tottenham’s match day squad, and the Telegraph has linked him with a move away.
But Dier, who is one of Alli’s closest friends in the team, has backed the attacking midfielder to break back into the club’s plans.
“Dele has the capacity, we all know his quality, we all know what he brings, he’s shown that in the past,” Dier said.
“It’s really up to him to put in the work, the effort, the commitment and I’m sure he will do that.
“That’s who he is, he’s always had that drive. It’s up to him, it’s in his hands and it’s in all of our hands.
“Individually, we all have to perform, we’ve got a very big squad and we all have to perform at the highest level if we want to play.”
Alli’s task of forcing his way back into Tottenham’s plans looks a major challenge now.
Alli failed to grasp his opportunity in his last start for Spurs, as he was hooked off at half-time in their 1-0 defeat against Antwerp.
Tottenham are next in action against Ludogorets on Thursday, but there now must be serious doubts over Alli featuring in that game, after Mourinho’s critical comments about him.
In total, the 24-year-old has made just six appearances for Spurs this season, and unless he starts playing more regularly, his future could come into sharp focus in the January transfer window.
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