Tim Sherwood thinks Dele Alli is ‘struggling for fitness’ after his latest performance for Tottenham, as he told Premier League Productions (19/12/21 at 7:15 pm).
The former Spurs boss added that Alli would want to play in a different position than the one he played against Liverpool and Harry Kane would also ‘want him to do that’.
On Sunday, Antonio Conte sprung a surprise by starting Alli from the get-go during Tottenham’s all-action 2-2 draw against the Reds.
Alli, 25, played on the left of a midfield three and produced a Man of the Match display upon his return to the XI.
But Sherwood doesn’t think he is playing in the position he would want to be in and he needs to play that ‘number 10’ role for his side.
“I thought he gave everything,” said Sherwood. “I am not sure he is playing in his correct position.
“I think if he (Alli) tells him (Conte) where he wants to play, he will say ‘number ten and just occupying the centre-halves’. I think Harry Kane wants him to do that.
“But he looks like he is getting there. Struggling for fitness. He looked a bit leggy when he got in the penalty area.
“The confidence will just come. He got in once when he should have put a nice crisp pass with his left foot to Harry and it’s an easy tap-in. He makes it more difficult even though Harry should score. He has a future here, just has to play with more consistency.”
When Jose Mourinho first walked into Hotspur Way, he started Alli from the get-go during their win at West Ham.
At that time, Alli had fallen out of favour under Mauricio Pochettino and needed picking up once more.
Things started to go well for the player initially, before he reverted to type and started to struggle for any sort of rhythm, form or consistency.
In six months time, Alli will be hoping he is being talked about as possibly returning to the England squad and not in a situation where things have gone wrong again.
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