It looks like Dele Alli will be staying at Tottenham after all.
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Alli, 24, has been a bit-part player this season for Spurs, and Jose Mourinho publicly criticized him after a loose pass led to a goal for Stoke City in a League Cup game in December.
The England international has been consistently linked with a move away in January, with Paris Saint-Germain reportedly interested in a deal as the man who gave him his Premier League debut, Mauricio Pochettino, has just taken charge of PSG.
Our partners at Sky Sports in the UK have stated that Alli will not be available this January:
“Tottenham are not looking to sell or loan out Dele Alli during the January transfer window and expect the midfielder to stay and fight for his place in the team. The 24-year-old was the subject of several bids from Paris Saint-Germain – who have just appointed former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach – in the summer window. But Spurs do not want to allow Alli to leave as they continue to compete in four different competitions.”
Is keeping Dele Alli a good decision?
It is clear that Daniel Levy is keen on a permanent deal rather than a loan for Dele Alli, and his individual quality is undoubted and his transfer value would have been close to $100 million before his recent slump.
However, Mourinho’s criticism of Dele Alli’s work-ethic in training in the documentary released on their 2019-20 season, plus his reluctance to play him regularly and his recent criticism, all build up to him not playing much this season and seeming unhappy with the situation.
Dele Alli has been overtaken by Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso when it comes to playing in the central attacking midfield role, but there is an argument that in many of the recent draws where Spurs went ahead, Alli could have made the difference from the start had he been given the opportunity to unlock teams sat in a low block.
Will Mourinho and Levy really want to see Dele Alli flourish at PSG on loan and make them look a little bit silly? Probably not.
Dele Alli won’t be happy about it, but it appears he will be playing a lot of FA Cup and Europa League games in 2021 and get the occasional outing in the Premier League. For Spurs it makes sense to have Alli around just in case a few more injuries crop up, plus it gives them options for the cup competitions.
Surely he won’t be happy with that as he tries to push for a spot in England’s squad for the European Championships this summer? In that case, is it really worth keeping an unhappy, and underused, Dele Alli around?
