Dele Alli could be a “massive asset” for Everton if the seldom-seen midfielder swaps the Tottenham Hotspur bench for Goodison Park, Trevor Sinclair has told talkSPORT (23 December, 12.30pm).
The Toffees have history when it comes to offering out-of-favour stars a clean slate on the blue half of Merseyside.
James Rodriguez, Andre Gomes and Lucas Digne have reignited their careers in Everton blue. The Mirror believes Alli could be offered a chance to do the same during the January transfer window.
The £100,000-a-week England international was handed brief cameos off the bench when Spurs were chasing a goal against Crystal Palace and Liverpool.
But his omission from the matchday squad in Sunday’s 2-0 home defeat to Leicester City felt like the final straw for a player who faces a race against time if he wants to secure a place in Gareth Southgate’s Euros squad.
A loan spell at Everton could be exactly what Alli needs, too, given Carlo Ancelotti’s famed ability to instill consistency in mercurial forwards.
“I’d love to see him stay in England and prove Jose and Tottenham wrong and prove he has still got something to give in this league,” former West Ham, Man City and England winger Sinclair says.
“I think he could go into that Everton side and be a massive asset if we got the Dele Alli we have seen at his best.”
Newcastle United have also been linked, with the former MK Dons starlet identified as a match-winning talent capable of sprinkling stardust on a largely drab midfield.
But Simon Jordan, a one-time Premier League owner with Crystal Palace, can’t see why Alli would want to swap title-chasing Spurs for a club that has come to epitomise mid-table mediocrity.
“Why is he going to go to Newcastle or someone of that nature? His representatives won’t want to see him there,” Jordan says.
“(A move to Newcastle)? That’s a non-starter.”
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