Dele Alli will be kicking himself after failing to take Gary Neville’s advice before his once-promising career went into a downward spiral during his time at Tottenham. The former England international was widely regarded as one of the country’s best young prospects in the early stages of his spell in north London but is now a far cry from the player he once was after falling off the map in recent seasons.
Alli joined Everton in January of last year but failed to make the grade and was shipped out on loan to Besiktas in the summer, where he has struggled to perform on a consistent basis and has been booed by the club’s supporters on a number of occasions. It seems as though Neville was right when he urged the midfielder to buck his ideas up in 2019, with the 26-year-old now paying the price for failing to heed the former Manchester United full-back’s warning.
“I had him with England three or four years ago and l would have said that he would go on to become one of the top midfielders this country has produced,” said Neville on Sky Sports.
“He had everything. And now look at him. He was subbed at half-time [against Arsenal] and he’s a shadow of what he was in terms of application and work ethic. I said last year he needed a shock, but he needs to sort himself out, and I love him as a kid.”
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It remains to be seen whether Alli will be able to resurrect his career over the coming months as he looks to finally deliver on the promise he showed as an emerging talent during his early days with Tottenham. He was recently slammed by Besiktas manager Senol Gunes, who insisted that Alli does not deserve to play for the club on a regular basis unless he improves and refused to rule out the possibility of sending him back to Everton if he continues to underwhelm in Turkey.
“Dele Alli has had a good career, but I don’t think he deserves to play right now,” said Gunes. “Sending the player [back to Everton] is something else and not the topic here.
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“We expect him to contribute to the team, but we think he cannot contribute at the moment. We will evaluate it with him and the club.”
Alli has registered 12 league appearances for Besiktas since joining the club on a season-long loan from Everton last summer, with the former Tottenham ace having made just nine starts for his temporary employers. He scored his first goal in only his second game for Besiktas back in September before enduring a four-month wait for his next one, which arrived during a 3-0 victory over Alanyaspor in January.
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