Time for Tottenham to drop Alli and give Son game time?

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Could dropping Dele Alli for Heung-min Son actually help all involved at Tottenham?

Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur attempts to get away from Pablo Zabaleta of West Ham United.

Dele Alli has come in for increased criticism this season, whether it is getting banned for England for raising his middle finger, or being booked for diving in Tottenham Hotspur’s latest outing at Huddersfield Town.

There is a general feeling that Alli has not shown the same form for Spurs this term as he has over the past two at the club, but when that included 28 league goals and 16 assists leading to successive PFA young player of the year awards then it’s not easy.

Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur and Joe Williams of Barnsley battle for possession during the Carabao Cup Third Round match.

In fact the 21-year-old’s statistics of two goals and one assist in seven league games – plus another strike in the Carabao Cup – is in a similar bracket, but is perhaps a great example of why stats don’t tell the whole story.

Mauricio Pochettino’s use of Alli in the aforementioned Carabao Cup perhaps hints the manager has not been wholly convinced by the midfielder’s performances himself, fielding him against Barnsley when the other key players in the team were rested.

The England international has been brilliant since arriving at Tottenham, but that shouldn’t mean he is undroppable and in fact with the former MK Dons man still being so young, a spell on the bench might actually do him good.

Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur shakes hands with Mauricio Pochettino.

This is made all the more prevalent by Heung-min Son’s presence there currently, a player who has also been consistently good for the North Londoners over the past two years and yet perhaps does not get the starting opportunities he deserves.

Dropping Alli shouldn’t be seen as a punishment, as while his form has dipped the Englishman remains a huge talent, but nurturing that by using the squad around him may help Pochettino to really help him fulfill it in the long-term.