After Spurs‘ 2-0 victory at home to Wolves on Sunday, Ryan Mason spoke highly of Dele Alli’s impact since returning to the first team, and suggested England manager Gareth Southgate should be thinking about selecting the midfielder for his European Championship squad.
With Jack Grealish looking sluggish since his return from injury and James Maddison slightly out of favour for Leicester at the moment, Dele could sneak back into the national team setup having impressed in the last few games.
The 25-year-old hit the post in the victory to Wolves, and was very unlucky to not have got a goal or an assist as his performance suggested he was beginning to return back to his best, and Mason knows that.
👔Spurs interim boss Ryan Mason is bemused that Conor Coady received 'Man of the Match' over Dele Alli:
🗣"It is strange that a central defender is ‘Man of the Match’ when his team conceded two and double figures of shots on target." #THFC #COYS #TOTWOLpic.twitter.com/gJ9alPb20v
— Last Word On Spurs (@LastWordOnSpurs) May 16, 2021
“I can’t speak in terms of what Gareth is thinking. I don’t know on that, but for me Dele was excellent,” Mason said.
“I don’t really like singling out players but it’s hard not to because I’m sure everyone felt it. He ran, he competed, he pressed, he created opportunities.
“I’m sure he’s disappointed not to get a goal himself. It was an excellent number 10 performance, I’m really, really pleased.”
🗣 "We had a game plan and we stuck to it"
Dele Alli on Tottenham's performance against Wolves. pic.twitter.com/mUMKRT4AgR
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 16, 2021
Dele, who scored the second goal in England’s 2-0 win against Sweden in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Quarter-Final, has shown his ability to perform countless times on the big stage, and before his big dip in form, was considered a ‘big game player’.
Having assisted two goals including the winner during the comeback win in Amsterdam to secure Spurs’ place in the final of the 2019 Champions League, as well as scoring braces against Chelsea, Real Madrid and a few other teams as well, his talent is quite obvious – it’s whether or not his confidence and mindset is in the right place.
Dele Alli vs Sweden
Saturday 7 July 2018
World Cup 2018 Quarter Final
Sweden 0-2 England (Samara, Russia) pic.twitter.com/0xhsTabnnm— England Goals (@ThreeLionsGoals) October 1, 2019
Mason, however, is doing his best to install confidence within the former MK Dons player, and has placed his trust within the midfielder who has thus far repaid that with an assist and a number of different roles played in the build-up to various goals since his return to the first team.
It now looks very unlikely he will leave in the Summer, having reminded the club of his skill and ability as well as his football intelligence to find pockets of space to provide the team with an escape route out of danger when being pressed – something we have only had from Harry Kane this season.