Eric Dier has backed Dele Alli to work his way back into the Tottenham starting XI.
Alli has been struggling to earn a place in Jose Mourinho’s team this season as the Portuguese manager looks to give chances to players that are serious about giving their best.
Alli’s form has dipped over the last two seasons and it has now cost him a place in the Tottenham first team.
The Englishman is arguably one of the most talented members of the current Tottenham team and his problem seems to be him applying himself.
Dier has been at the club as a teammate of Alli long enough to know what the Englishman offers, and he claims that Alli will be back.
He says everyone knows what Alli can offer and that it just remains for the former MK Dons man to get the best out of himself and he will do that.
‘Dele has the capacity, we all know his quality, we all know what he brings, he’s shown that in the past,’ he said via Mail Online.
‘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.
‘Individually, we all have to perform, we’ve got a very big squad and we all have to perform at the highest level if we want to play.’
Interesting idea but Dele’s troubles began long before Covid. His talent is not in doubt but Dier is damning him with faint praise as it sounds like Dele is not putting in the “work, the effort, the commitment”. I’d prefer him to regain his form at Spurs.
The vagaries of behind closed doors football is a subject which someone infinitely more intelligent than me will look into in depth one day. Are certain players adversely affected by the lack of atmosphere? Is Dele one of them? Do others thrive without the pressure? Do the stats show more/less goals and why might that be?