Dele Alli is anticipated to leave Tottenham Hotspur in the January transfer window, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein.
The Spurs midfielder is likely to leave on loan rather than be sold because teams are unlikely to pay a fee that Tottenham would deem acceptable. His contract expires in June 2024.
Dele Alli to Leave Tottenham in January
🚨 Tottenham have decided to let Dele Alli leave in January, probably on loan. Daniel Levy refused in past amid #PSG interest but stance has changed & 25yo needs regular game time. #THFC contract until 2024 & barely playing so sale unlikely @TheAthleticUK https://t.co/bQagj4buGV
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) December 13, 2021
Fallen Out of Favour
The reduced playing time of Dele Alli many ways symbolises how Spurs’ upward trajectory has stalled in recent years. Since Mauricio Pochettino sacking two years ago, Alli has rarely featured for the North London club.
Typically the 25-year-old would be clocking at least 25 appearances in the league, a minimum of five appearances in Europe and over two thousand minutes in all competitions. Alli’s time on the pitch in the last two seasons has not surpassed what he accumulated in the 2019/20 Premier League alone.
Significantly, Alli’s minutes have declined from far over three thousand during his peak years five or four years ago, to a little under six hundred. Attacking production has unsurprisingly correlated downwards as he spent less and less time on the pitch. Alli recorded over 50 goals and assists between August 2016 and May 2018. However, his output has not surpassed ten between August 2020 and the present day.
It was hoped at the start of the season Spurs’ former star player would find newfound life under Nuno Espirito Santo. Optimism sparked when his role changed and he was playing again. Like Nuno’s short spell at Spurs, the return of Alli was short-lived.
Antonio Conte does not have Alli in his plans for this season, which has led to Daniel Levy u-turning on his prior belief of not allowing Alli to leave. Paris Saint-Germain pursued the Tottenham midfielder in October 2020 and January 2021, but Levy rejected their interest. According to The Athletic, managing director of football Fabio Paratici also believes it is best for Alli to move on – for the time being at least.
Where Alli goes and how he performs will be crucial for his and Spurs’ future. Perform well and Tottenham may get a good monetary return, or Conte will reintegrate him. If it goes badly, the question of what happened to Dele Alli will be explored more and more intensely.
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