Michael Owen questioned what type of player Dele Alli is despite him making 266 appearances for the club and previously being an England international, as he queried on Premier League Productions.
The former striker shared that ‘I am still frustrated’ as he tried to work out what kind of player he is for Tottenham.
On Sunday, Alli was handed his first start under Antonio Conte when Spurs recorded a 2-2 draw against Liverpool.
The attack-minded midfielder was outstanding during the game and should have had at least one goal and assist to his name.
Whilst that didn’t happen, it was, for once, a strong performance from the former MK Dons player, who now needs to run with this and start to produce on a consistent basis again.
Nonetheless, this is what Owen had to say about Alli and how players can become ‘bored’ of just doing the same thing.
“I am still frustrated, what type of player is he?” said Owen. “What is he? And he’s not a kid anymore.
Owen is then told about his qualities by fellow pundit Glenn Hoddle and he then responded: “He’s get-in-the-box late goalscoring midfielder?
“It’s an interesting one because a lot of players. They can get bored with what they are good at. You think you are very good at other things and you want to prove other things.
”I used to want to drop into midfield and started pinging balls out. You get away from actually doing what you are best at.”
These are now a big few weeks for Alli because there has been a lot of talk about him possibly leaving during the winter transfer window.
Spurs had a two-week period away from the limelight because their games were postponed and Alli clearly showed his manager what he is about.
Tottenham went into the Liverpool game unbeaten in the Premier League under their new boss and also having beaten Norwich City 3-0 weeks earlier.
But Alli must have stepped up big time in training for Conte to show his faith in the player and drop him straight into the XI.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
