Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce met Tottenham Hotspur star Dele Alli when the midfielder was at MK Dons.
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has revealed to The Mirror what he made of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli when he first met him.
Bruce met Alli last season when he was in charge of Hull City and the midfielder has gone back to his former club MK Dons.
The former Manchester United defender has shared what he made of the 20-year-old when he met him.
“You see little things,” Bruce told The Mirror about Alli. “He came to support his mates although he was playing the next day for Spurs.
“He came into the manager’s (then Karl Robinson) office and you could just tell in his make up and his demeanour that he had a really fantastic charm about him and a humbleness.
“He looks the real deal. All those others we are talking about had a real desire to stay there and they had a grounding. You need that. It is very difficult these days with the money they earn and the lifestyle that comes with that.
“But I only met Dele Alli once in that office and thought: ‘What a charmer – not only are you a really good footballer, you must be a very decent human being to be there supporting your old mates’.”
Alli is one of the best young midfielders in the Premier League and is a key player in the current Tottenham team.
The England international will feature for Spurs against Villa in the third round of the FA Cup at White Hart Lane on Sunday afternoon.
The 20-year-old has scored 10 goals and created 27 chances in 19 Premier League matches for the North London outfit so far this season.
Tottenham are third in the Premier League table at the moment with 42 points from 20 matches, seven points behind leaders Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Villa are currently 12th in the Championship table with 35 points from 25 games.
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