The emergence of Dele Alli at Tottenham Hotspur has been nothing short of remarkable. Alli has averaged around a goal every three games since he made his debut for the club two-and-a-half years ago.
The attacking midfielder played two full seasons at Milton Keynes Dons before making the move to Spurs. It’s easy to forget that he’s still only 21, with two dominant seasons in a title challenging side as well.
Alli started the campaign slowly and although his productivity has improved in recent months, he is still not at the same level as previous terms. He has just five league goals in 22 starts, although he has contributed to seven assists.
Those statistics have been boosted by a three-game spell over Christmas, where Alli scored twice and assisted three in matches with Burnley, Southampton and Swansea City. However, Spurs were at least 2-0 ahead when Alli made his contribution in each of those games.
It’s arguable that his numbers maybe down, but his presence is enough to enable creative players alongside him to operate. Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-Min have had good seasons, although when they have been missing the burden falls upon the youngster once again.
Tactically teams are more aware of Mauricio Pochettino’s philosophy and the lesser sides will naturally drop deeper, whilst mindful of the aerial threat that Harry Kane can provide. Kane has contributed to a higher percentage of goals for Spurs in 2017/18, which may be a consequence of Alli’s dip in form.
Tottenham’s best performances this season have coincided with Alli’s, with dominant displays against Liverpool, Real Madrid and Southampton. Both Liverpool and Madrid are more proactive and play with a higher defensive line which gives Alli more space to run into or to pick out a key pass on the counter-attack, whilst the personnel in the 5-2 win and 1-1 draw with Southampton were very different from the two sides.
His goals against Burnley and West Ham United both came via deflections off opposing defenders. The impending matches at Anfield and in the Champions League against Juventus will likely see another improvement from Alli.
“He (Pochettino) knew me; he knew I just needed to get back out there playing again,” said Alli to ESPN last June regarding his slow start to last season. “You have to talk about it in order to improve, but once you start playing again you don't want to think about it too much,” added the midfielder, which suggests he prefers to play off instinct.
There are factors off the pitch which may have a mental effect on the England international. He is much more recognisable now and he has also changed management recently.
His upbringing was far from straight forward and the interviews given by his biological mother and sister last year to newspapers won’t have helped him. Alli’s father has turned up at Spurs in the past trying to get into matches off the back of his estranged son.
Alli is still waiting on an improved contract, even though it has been proposed since last summer. He is still on around £60,000 a week, which is relatively low in comparison to other players across the league with his influence.
He will hope that this can be sorted before the World Cup and he can focus solely on the tournament ahead. Alli is still young and it’s vital that he doesn’t get overused in the next few years, due to his early exposure to competitive football.
