Paul Merson has told Sky Sports that Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli should leave the club in the January transfer window.
The former Arsenal star, who now works as a pundit for Sky Sports, believes that the England international midfielder needs to play regular first-team football.
Merson has said that by taking Alli off at half time during Tottenham’s defeat to Royal Antwerp in the Europa League last week, head coach Jose Mourinho has sent him a message.
The Englishman told Sky Sports, as transcribed by The Express: “When a manager has given you a chance and then he’s brought you off after 45 minutes, that’s a message in itself. He doesn’t look like playing, doesn’t look like getting a game. He needs to move on now in my opinion and get back to where he was.
“When that lad is on song and he gets in the box – he’s as good a finisher as I’ve seen from midfield – he could be another Frank Lampard.
“He gets in the box, he arrives at the right time. He’s a good finisher. His confidence is gone at the moment and I don’t care if you’re Lionel Messi or [Cristiano] Ronaldo, if you haven’t got any confidence, you aren’t the same player.
“I think he needs to move on in January, because this is a short career. It goes very quickly and when he isn’t playing, he’s wasting time.”
Time for Dele Alli to leave?
Alli has been left out of Tottenham’s matchday squads at times in the Premier League and is not guaranteed a place in the starting lineup.
According to WhoScored, the 24-year-old midfielder has played just 67 minutes in the Premier League and only 74 minutes in the Europa League for Spurs so far this season.
It is clear that Mourinho does not think that the 24-year-old is good enough to play for his side on a regular basis.
It would make sense for Alli to find a new club in January to join on loan for the second half of the season so that he can start playing regularly again and perhaps get back to his best.
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