There's no denying that Dele Alli is a special talent.

After signing for Tottenham from MK Dons in 2015, Alli immediately hit the ground running in the Premier League and quickly emerged into a key player at Tottenham.

In total, he has scored 42 goals from 137 games in a Tottenham shirt, a fairly impressive tally when you consider he is a midfielder.

And, his displays have earned the praise of Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino, who caused a stir earlier today when he stated he was the best young player in the world.

"When you compare him with all the young players in the world, not only in Europe, I think he is the best," Pochettino said.

"Tell me one better than him, a 21-year-old, all that he achieves. Tell me one. A current player. Maybe you can find similar or better than him?

"For me he is the best because he is my player too. Maybe I am not objective but for me, he is amazing, all that he is doing."

ALLI OPENS UP ABOUT DIVING ACCUSATIONS

But, whereas there is no doubt he is a supremely talented footballer, Alli has also earned a negative reputation for himself through his antics on the pitch.

The 21-year-old has been booked for diving on numerous occasions throughout his career, and as a result many consider have accused him of being a cheat.

But now, in an interview with the Telegraph, the Englishman has opened up about the criticism he has received in the past. And to be fair, he comes across very well.

"Nobody wants to be labelled as a cheat," he said. "It’s an opinion and everyone has a different opinion. I get into the box a lot and round the box, and I’m an attacking player and I get fouled a lot.

"There are some that look bad. It’s different when you are in the action.

"The one at Crystal Palace, that’s the one I saw a lot of reaction to. I was running through and, at the time, all was going through my head was that I didn’t want to step on the keeper. But when you watch it back and people start saying things, it can look a lot different.

"I am 21 and you do some dumb things sometimes, and it’s all part of learning and improving, and turning into a good person and that’s what I want to achieve."

All credit to Alli. It seems as if he regrets some of the dives he has made, and wants to learn from these mistakes.

Let's hope he stays true to his word and tries his best to eradicate this flaw from his game.