It’s one of the biggest moves in the Premier League on January’s Deadline Day. Tottenham Hotspur’s 25-year-old midfielder Dele Alli is set to join Everton in a move that will end up costing the Toffees an initial £10m, after the Englishman has made 20 appearances for the club.
It’s a remarkable deal, that could rise to £40m but that is dependent on a whole number of clauses, for a talented number ten that still has two-and-a-half years remaining on his current contract. But with the player out of favour with Antonio Conte, and having struggled in north London under three different managers since the departure of Mauricio Pochettino, an exit by any means looked like the most sensible financial option for Daniel Levy.
But what Everton are getting for a reasonably small initial outlay is a player of immense quality, who has the potential to be a star in the top flight once again. He is approaching the peak of his career and a move away to a new club could refresh the Englishman, while he will also get the chance to work under Frank Lampard, the finest goalscoring midfielder this country has ever produced. If he works out, they will have no issue paying the full price for him, and if he doesn't then this hasn't been much of a risk.
He’s a man who has played in a Champions League final, a World Cup semi-final and been in a Premier League title race, and although it’s been a turbulent time for Dele over the past few years, his talent has always been unquestionable. A fresh start should allow him to focus and flourish.
His rise to the top of English football was supersonic, almost unlike anything we have ever seen before. At the age of 16 he was playing regularly in League One with MK Dons, and by 19 he had secured his £5m move to the Premier League.
Yet Dele’s talent meant that he wasn’t going to be a squad player, or sent out on loan to the Championship. He proved within months he was good enough to star in this Tottenham side and in his first season at the club, he almost won the Premier League, as Spurs lost out to Leicester City in the most surprising title win we have ever seen.
In Pochettino, he had found his perfect manager, the man who could get the very best out of him and the man who allowed him to flourish with Harry Kane. Together, they formed part of an incredible squad that almost won the Premier League and narrowly lost a Champions League final.
It seems Dele had a drive and passion to be the best, and even if his relaxed style made him appear lazy at times, his talent was harnessed to its maximum. Then Pochettino departed and Spurs regressed. Unfortunately, despite keeping hold of the likes of Kane and
Dele as they looked to move forward, those players regressed massively as well.
The 25-year-old flopped under Pochettino’s successor Jose Mourinho, and the Portuguese boss perhaps described his rapid rise to the top of English football in the most concise fashion, on Amazon’s All or Nothing.
“I have no doubts about your potential. I saw you do incredible matches and incredible things, but I always felt you had ups and downs... One day I think you will regret [it] if you don't reach what you can reach.”
Dele couldn’t get going under the disciplinarian, but even when he was afforded several chances under Nuno Espirito Santo, starting the first six games of the season, he underperformed, scoring just one goal from the penalty spot in that time. Under Antonio Conte, he has started just two matches, and failed to flourish. Players go through difficult spells, that is obvious, but this long period of underperformance has led Spurs to cut ties with the player that had looked like a world-beater just four years ago.
This particular January move, to a club in need of new idols, could provide a much-needed fresh start for Dele. More to the point, Everton’s new era begins now, and the Englishman is the perfect signing for the fans - while he now has the greatest teacher of the lot.