Dele Alli was left out of the matchday squad as Tottenham beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 on Sunday afternoon. It was the seventh time this season that the 24-year-old has been omitted by Jose Mourinho and it won’t be the last if his latest comments are anything to go by.
Dele was hauled off along with three other players midway through our Europa League defeat to Royal Antwerp on Thursday and Mourinho told Football.London that journalists need not ask why he misses so many games for Tottenham after his performance in midweek.
Even Eric Dier told Football.London that Dele needs to “put in the work, the effort, the commitment” to get back into the team. It doesn’t appear he’s getting the memo, however, which could lead to Mourinho forcing him out of the club.
Mourinho isn’t happy with Dele’s work ethic
In the Amazon ‘All or Nothing’ documentary, Mourinho told Dele in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t happy with his work ethic in training. He called the England international “lazy” and said in a meeting with Daniel Levy that he doesn’t train well and needs motivating.
Dele scored four goals and made three assists in his first seven Premier League games under Mourinho (November 20, 2019 – present), but he’s struggled for consistency ever since (21 PL games, 2 goals, 1 assist) and no longer makes the 18.
Mourinho clearly isn’t happy with what Dele is showing him on the training ground and in games. He’s substituted the 24-year-old in every game he started him in this season, meaning Dele hasn’t played a full 90 minutes once. I can’t help but feel this could be the end.
If Dele leaves Spurs, where could he go?
Dele has made 228 appearances in all competitions since joining from MK Dons in 2015, scoring 63 goals with 55 assists, but he may not add much more to his tally if reports are to be believed.
As per the Daily Mail, the English midfielder was denied a loan move to Paris Saint-Germain over the summer but could be a target for the Ligue 1 champions in January.
The Sun suggested Manchester United, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and Shanghai SIPG could be potential destinations for Dele too. Time will tell where he ends up, however.
In other news, it’s time to admit Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has pleasantly surprised us all
Delete needs to buck his ideas up if he wants to progress as a footballer. Nobody wants lazy players. He has got it in him he needs to stop sulking and pull his socks up and get on with it.
Delicate Alli and his hurt feelings should go to Shanghai. Or perhaps Wuhan. I don’t think he’s got the bottle to stay in N17. Unless the bottle has a nipple. Prove me wrong, delicado, please.
Mourinho called Dele “F*****g lazy” and it was there for all the world to see, on the Amazon series.
And now even Spurs supporters are calling him lazy. A playboy, a sulker, a party boy that lacks ambition or a fire in his belly…
Personally I think this is all bull. I have seen Dele loose his way a bit on the pitch and his former great form suffered for a while. Whether this is due to him losing confidence, his struggles getting back from injuries or whatever. I haven’t a clue. Maybe this and more. I’m certain Jose’s public dressing down of him with the ‘lazy’ comment hasn’t helped the situation. Who knows?
But, regardless of whether or not Dele is the player he once was for Spurs, I have never watched him and thought to myself that he is indeed a lazy player. In fact, I have always seen him as hard-working when on the pitch and often covering more ground than most. As for what he is like in training? Well I haven’t an opinion on that. I’ve never watched him train…
In the past few weeks, Jose has been deflecting all of the media questioning on Dele. And he has stopped giving answers. But the last time he did directly comment on Dele (if I recall correctly) was just after the Chelsea League cup match. And Jose said quite clearly that Dele was being very professional and working hard in training and, despite knowing that he wasn’t going to play against Chelsea. He also said that he had respect for Dele and that so do all of his team mates have respect for him and his pro attitude. But, where in all this Dele speculation and article writing do I read this? I don’t! It’s all the usual negative stuff that I read.
Talking of what his manager and team mates have said on him, the Dier quote in this article is incomplete. And the inference that Dele is not working hard to regain his place in the squad/team is misplaced because of this incomplete quote. What Dier said in full has the complete opposite inference, imo…
Dier said; “It’s really up to him to put in the work, the effort, the commitment and I’m sure he will do that.
“That’s who he is, he’s always had that drive. It’s up to him, it’s in his hands and it’s in all of our hands.
Whether or not Dele can make it back into Jose’s plans is unknown. Whether or not he is then sold is unknown. Meanwhile I make no assumptions on him or his character. Other than I have the belief that Dele is a strong character and not at all lazy. I think he is a tough cookie and probably worthy of a bit more respect from us, the supporters.
But, it’s just my opinion. But also, it is an opinion made knowing that Dele fought hard as a kid (on the streets of Milton Keynes) to be a pro footballer and a very young age, made it to the top, against all the odds. He has it in him to fight on and prove his detractors wrong. Including his current manager… I believe he will. Whether that be at Spurs or elsewhere…
I wish him all the best…
I hope you’re right HT. Some of the stuff he posted on line made think he doesn’t have the attitude to last at the top of the world of the spotlight. Party boy stuff. Ronaldinho Gaucho could have been one of the greatest of the ages, but he pissed it away in similar fashion. Anyone interested in a rescue intervention? When he was at his best, Delicate had all the promise in the cosmos. i love to that fulfilled.