Dele Alli says that Liverpool and Newcastle United wanted him before he moved to Tottenham Hotspur.
Alli joined Tottenham from MK Dons in February 2015 for a transfer fee reported by BBC Sport to be worth £5 million.
The 23-year-old spent the rest of the 2014-15 campaign on loan at MK Dons, and he was immediately drafted into the first team at Spurs thereafter.
The England international is a key figure in the current Tottenham team, but that could have been different due to interest from him from other clubs.
Alli has explained why he did not move to Newcastle despite interest from the Magpies, and the midfielder has also stated that Liverpool wanted him before his switch to Spurs.
Alli told Sky Sports: “There were a few different reasons. Obviously from the family point of view, there were clubs interested from up north.
“Liverpool were [interested] at the time, but I don’t know how serious they were, but I remember Newcastle was quite a big one at the time. But from a family point of view I was going up there by myself, and they were a bit worried about me being up there by myself so far away, it’s not local to them, in the end the decision was mine, but I don’t know what happened, the deal didn’t go through any way, and I don’t think they wanted me in the end!
“That was a bit before Tottenham. When you’re still young, it’s hard to see the bigger picture, and when it happened at first I was sort of really angry, it felt like people were stopping me from leaving! But I know that wasn’t the case.”
Stats
According to WhoScored, Alli has made 17 starts and one substitute appearance in the Premier League for Tottenham so far this season, scoring seven goals and providing three assists in the process.
The midfielder has also scored one goal and provided one assist in five Champions League matches for Spurs so far this campaign, according to WhoScored.
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