UEFA.com's weekly wonderkid: Dele Alli
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Article summary
Dele Alli had never played outside of the English third tier before the start of this season but the 19-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise and could be an England starter come UEFA EURO 2016.
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Dele Alli had only played third-tier football at the start of this season, but the teenage midfielder is now a key figure for Tottenham and a certainty for Roy Hodgson's England squad at UEFA EURO 2016.
Name: Dele Alli
Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Senior debut: 2 November 2012 v Cambridge City (FA Cup, playing for Milton Keynes Dons)
Position: Midfielder
Nationality: English
Date of birth: 11 April 1996
Preferred foot: Right
Height: 1.88m
They say ...
"You expect players you sign to be able, professional and good quality, but I cannot lie, I think he has surprised everyone with the way he has played and his maturity. We knew he was a player with unbelievable potential. It is great to see him play and keep his feet on the ground as well."
Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham manager
"Dele Alli is a brilliant player and would be in my England starting XI. He has always had promise – even at MK Dons he had a big reputation so I don't think it has been thrown upon us. He has taken the jump in class in his stride and I would have no question about having him in my EURO team."
Michael Owen, former England striker
Background ...
Alli joined home-town club Milton Keynes aged 11 and made his debut for the club at 16. He started attracting interest from big clubs across Europe with a starring role in a 4-0 League Cup victory against Manchester United in August 2014 and joined Spurs in the following winter transfer window. He returned to third-tier Milton Keynes for the remainder of the season to help them gain promotion, winning the Football League Young Player of the Year award in the process.
Alli quickly became an integral part of Pochettino's side this term and has represented England at every level from Under-17, scoring a stunning long-range effort on his first start for the full international side against France in November. Still only 19, he has already made in excess of 100 league appearances, more than any other player under 20 in Europe's 'big five' nations.
Playing style ...
Alli is blessed with flair and creativity while his movement, composure on the ball and in front of goal mean he can operate from a deeper midfielder position or behind the striker. "When he plays like a No10, he makes movement like a striker," says Pochettino. "When he plays as a No8 or a No6, he can play like a holding midfielder. His best quality is that he's very, very clever. It's not that he runs a lot, it's his technical quality – how he reads the game."
In possession, Alli seems to glide around the pitch and play the game at his own pace, while his penchant for a nutmeg has led to Spurs fans even keeping a season tally of such tricks. Without the ball, he displays the industry and pressing demanded by Pochettino and is not afraid to throw himself into tackles either. A laid-back character off the pitch, Alli often plays on the edge when he crosses the white line, unsettling far more seasoned campaigners than himself.
Shades of ...
Alli has given England fans a glimpse of the future so it is perhaps inevitable that comparisons have been made with past midfielders such as Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. Alli's ability to arrive in the box at the right moment and break beyond the striker are qualities that served Lampard so well while his dynamism, game-changing ability and eye for the spectacular were a trademark of Gerrard.
Eureka moment ...
Tottenham's top-four challenge seemed to be faltering when they were drawing late in the game at Crystal Palace on 23 January. Then a clearance came to Alli on the edge of the area which, in one movement, he flicked up over himself and Mile Jedinak, swivelled and volleyed past Wayne Hennessey. Spurs eventually won 3-1 then triumphed in their next four league games to rise to second in the Premier League.
"I've seen some glorious goals scored in my time watching football matches but I doubt whether I will see a goal scored with such individual flair, and by a 19-year-old, as Dele Alli's goal at Selhurst Park – it was sheer class," said former Spurs striker turned pundit Garth Crooks.
Best-case scenario ...
Sealing UEFA Champions League football for next season with Tottenham would send Alli to UEFA EURO 2016 with the world at his feet. Such expectancy has not been heaped on a youthful Spurs player since Paul Gascoigne arrived at the 1990 FIFA World Cup – a similar tournament as his predecessor would catapult Alli onto the global stage.
He says ...
"I'm still 19 and have got a lot to learn and this is a great club to do that with. I've played in a lot of the Europa League games and I've learned something new in every game. There have been a lot of great experiences for me and to be doing it with these boys and such a young team is a great achievement, and I am looking forward to next season."