At one point, Tottenham Hotspur looked like they had a player ‘destined’ for much bigger things in the form of Dele Alli.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, Alli established himself as one of England’s most promising players and among Europe’s frightening young talents.
By virtue of the fact that the former Tottenham attacker has just signed for Besiktas, however, you could argue that things haven’t been going to plan for Alli in recent years.
Spurs boss Antonio Conte sold him to Everton during the January transfer window but he struggled to make an impact under Frank Lampard at Goodison Park.
And Paul Merson has admitted he’s genuinely ‘sad’ to see Alli leaving the Premier League, acknowledging that it’s a ‘major fall’ to go from one of Tottenham’s top boys to Turkish football at the age of only 26.
He told The Star: “Sad to see Dele Alli go. At 21, Dele Alli was one of the best young kids in the world. He was destined for Barcelona or Real Madrid. I find it a real shame to see him leave the Premier League.
“Now he’s gone to Turkish football, we’re never going to see him ever again. When do we ever see it on the tele? I really hoped it would work out at Everton but when you’ve got all the money in the world, it becomes harder to stay at the top. I just hope he’s alright because it is a major fall.”
Merson is right – it certainly is very sad and it remains to be seen how Alli will fare over there.
It’s genuinely quite scary to consider that he’s only 26 because if he struggles in Turkey, having failed at a Toffees side who barely survived relegation last season, then it becomes a question of ‘where to next?’.
There’s many Tottenham supporters who will be hoping that he can bounce back and use his Besitkas stint as a stepping stone toward another big transfer, en route to fulfilling his undeniable potential, but it’s growing increasingly difficult to see him ever becoming the player he could’ve been.
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