Dele Alli‘s career looks set for another downturn, with the midfielder on the verge of leaving Everton and the Premier League for a move to Besiktas in Turkey.
The 26-year-old only joined the Toffees at the start of 2022 yet has already fallen out of favour at Goodison Park under Frank Lampard.
To many, this potential switch at what should be the height of his career may come as a surprise, perhaps in light of the the way he exploded onto the scene with Tottenham and then the World Cup with England.
Dele Alli has endured a miserable time at Everton since joining the club at the start of the year
In a fascinating conversation in Tottenham’s All or Nothing Amazon series, Jose Mourinho warned Alli that his career could pass him by back in the 2019-20 season
For others though there may be a hint of sadness at the slightly predictable nature of it all and it would not be a surprise if Dele’s former Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho was among them.
‘I think one day you will regret if you don’t reach what you can reach. You should demand more from you’, is what Mourinho told Dele during the 2019-20 season via Amazon’s All or Nothing documentary, fearing the attacking maestro wasn’t getting the best out of himself.
Mourinho’s words were not out of spite, and you can witness in his careful, almost cautious, delivery of them that the Portuguese was desperate to coax the form out of the player who at the peak of his powers was among the best young talents in England.
Dele’s rise was rapid from the depths of the lower leagues and he first started attracting attention of the big clubs when he played a starring role in MK Dons’ stunning 2014 League Cup upset victory over Manchester United when his side shocked Louis van Gaal’s outfit 4-0.
Five months later in the January window he was signing a deal to join Tottenham for the 2015-16 campaign, impressing in Mauricio Pochettino’s side greatly in pre-season against Real Madrid and AC Milan.
Dele burst on the scene with Spurs scoring in his second appearance as a sub against Leicester
Such was his early form he made his England debut a month after scoring his first Spurs goal
Then just 19, he was meant to be a potential breakout star gradually appearing across the season. Instead he came off the bench in just his second game to score against eventual champions Leicester City.
After four matches, Spurs were still winless and he was thrown into the starting line-up to help Pochettino’s side to…