Matthew Upson has stated that it’s ‘sad’ to see how far ex-Tottenham Hotspur star Dele Alli has fallen as he nears a move from Everton to Besiktas, as he told the Football Show on Sky Sports.
Back in January, Alli left Tottenham to join Frank Lampard at Everton after failing to impress Antonio Conte, but just like the latter years of his career in north London, he simply couldn’t rediscover his form on Merseyside.
The 26-year-old, who once scored 18 Premier League goals from the middle of the park, was seen as a rising star and one of England’s best upcoming talents.
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is around the corner, and when the World Cup last took place, Alli was front and centre of Gareth Southgate’s plans – now he wouldn’t even get into England’s 20th-string team.
Alli will now try to restart his career in Turkey, as former England defender Upson expressed his sadness at how ‘someone that talented’ can fall off the footballing cliff.
“He’s a player that needs to play football,” said Upson. “He needs to rediscover that element of playing football, being care-free and doing what he is capable of.
“What comes with that is preparation, getting to fitness level, the mental approach to all of that and it’s all part of the package as to where that performance comes from.
“Everyone can see over the seasons that he has slowly chipped away from being a bright young star to now not really playing that much football. There has been a lot of disappointment along the way.
“If he does go out to Besiktas, then I really hope he hits the ground running, gets into the team and gets playing football again. That’s the challenge for him. It’s sad to see someone who is that talented not performing on the pitch.”
JOSE MOURINHO WAS RIGHT
Tottenham’s All or Nothing Amazon documentary was brilliant viewing, mainly because Jose Mourinho was the star of the show and he added serious entertainment to proceedings.
But during one episode, the now-Roma coach had words of advice to Alli, how he needs to buckle up because time flies pretty quickly.
It seems as though those wise words went into one ear and out of the other for the attacking midfielder because Mourinho, who labelled him ‘lazy’ in training, was 100% right.
Many wonderkids have risen before, showcased their quality, then dropped like a stone, but hardly anyone has risen, fallen then got back up again.
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