Mason Mount, Jack Grealish, James Maddison, Curtis Jones, Phil Foden. What do they all have in common? They are all England midfielders vying for a spot in Gareth Southgate’s side. Dele Alli, now supposedly in his prime age-wise, should be on that list.
In contrast, however, the likes of James Ward-Prowse now look likely to take a place in Southgate’s squad; an England place Alli could once be guaranteed. But those days are over.
The 24-year-old has swapped Spurs stardom for a seat on Mourinho’s bench, removed from what could be the first Spurs side to win a trophy in 13 years.
With each passing week and each Alli benching, it becomes more and more obvious that his time at Spurs must come to an end if he wants to make the England squad for the Euros.
Alli Must Leave Spurs for the Sake of England Place
Frozen Out by Mourinho
In the last two decades, Jose Mourinho has built up a legacy of being one of the best managers around- winning the Champions League with Porto, the La Liga with Real Madrid and the Premier League at Chelsea.
That’s the side people admire- his tactical genius and footballing brain. But everyone has a weakness; something to be critical of, and Mourinho’s is his man-management.
Throughout what is undisputedly an illustrious career, the former Chelsea manager has built a reputation for freezing stars out of the game and removing them from the picture entirely- even when they’re needed the most.
At Real Madrid, it was Iker Casillas; at Manchester United, it was Paul Pogba. Now, at Spurs, it is Dele Alli who has fallen victim to Mourinho’s high demands and ultimate stubbornness.
Many believed it would be Tanguy Ndombele to fall victim to Mourinho’s ways- the Frenchman never looked likely to succeed under the Premier League winning manager, but now he is thriving.
In the space of a few months, Ndombele and Alli have swapped circumstances. When Mourinho first came in, Alli was the star man in the absence of Harry Kane. Meanwhile, Ndombele sat on the bench.
Now, it is the Frenchman who often excels whilst Alli rots away on the bench despite Spurs’ need for a creative spark in recent times. Yet it seems, despite drawing with Fulham 1-1, Mourinho’s stubborn nature proved detrimental once more with Alli, who could have been the difference-maker, failing to come off the bench.
Paris Saint-Germain Interested
Under Mauricio Pochettino, Alli thrived- winning the PFA Young Player of the Year award. Now, the Argentine, with new club Paris Saint-Germain, wants to throw the drowning Englishman a lifeline.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the French side are ‘very keen’ on signing Alli on a loan deal with the 24-year-old reportedly pushing to leave the club. Daniel Levy, however, is reportedly refusing to sanction a deal for the midfielder.
This leaves Alli, who has featured just four times in the Premier League this season, sitting on the Spurs bench with a move to Paris more of a dream than reality as things stand.
Should he fail to find game time, Alli will miss out on a trip to the Euros after looking likely to be the country’s next Steven Gerrard/Frank Lampard just a couple of years ago.
He needs a move, whether on loan or not is yet to be seen; he must escape the misery of playing under Jose Mourinho as a player of Alli’s creative type.
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