Darren Bent has urged Dele Alli to consider leaving Tottenham Hotspur and ‘go anywhere’ in an upcoming transfer window on talkSPORT, as the midfielder is going ‘stale’ at Spurs.
Alli turned in a horror-show performance as NS Mura stunned Antonio Conte’s side in the Europa Conference League on Thursday. He offered brief flashes of the skill that once lit up north London, but too often failed to make a difference during his 54-minutes on the pitch.
Conte wasted no time to haul Alli off in Slovenia once referee Antonio Nobre showed the 25-year-old a yellow card. With the midfielder spurning his chance to impress the Italian.
Conte had only given Alli two-minutes in Tottenham’s three prior games since he replaced Nuno Espirito Santo. And he could now be waiting a while before his next substantial haul.
Bent urges Alli to consider Tottenham transfer exit
Alli’s efforts have left Bent seriously questioning if the midfielder’s future is at Tottenham, and urges the £100k-a-week playmaker to consider a transfer so he can revive his career.
“He looks to me like the world is weighing him down, and it shouldn’t do,” Bent said. “He is playing at a great football club – great players, great supporters – I think he needs to go elsewhere now. I think he needs to go somewhere and refocus.
“He’s had [Mauricio] Pochettino, he’s had [Jose] Mourinho, he’s had Ryan Mason, he’s had Nuno and now he’s had Conte. I think you just get to a point where you become stale in an environment. He needs to just go anywhere else and start again.
“There is a player there who sows little touches here and there. But right now, I am looking at a player that is going stale where he is right now.”
Bent is not alone in urging Alli to consider a transfer away from Tottenham, having failed to relive his highs. Trevor Sinclair has also told him to ‘get out’ of Spurs and his comfort zone.
Conte will have a short fuse before instructing Alli to leave Tottenham, too, if the 37-cap England international cannot show he has more to offer before the transfer window opens.
And that fuse may already be lit, as AS claimed at the start of the month that Conte will put Alli up for sale. Additionally, Newcastle could offer them both an option, as Eurosport note the Magpies have Alli on their shortlist of targets as they look to invest £50m in January.
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