Dele Alli is struggling.
The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has been an exceptional player in recent seasons and enjoyed a rapid rise from his time at MK Dons in the lower-leagues.
Under the management of Mauricio Pochettino, his skill set and his attributes developed, and he became a key member of both the Spurs and the England squad.
In 2016/17, he scored 18 Premier League goals and also laid on nine assists, and has made a total of 228 appearances for Spurs, scoring 63 goals and laying on 55 assists.
He has won 37 England caps and played at Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, scoring in the quarter-final victory over Sweden in the latter.
Now, though, he is out of favour and struggling to force his way into Jose Mourinho’s plans in north London.
This season, he has played six times in all competitions but has yet to complete the 90 minutes, while he has made just one league start from a possible seven.
He played 45 minutes against Everton and then a further 21 minutes against Manchester United; against Southampton, Newcastle United, West Ham United, Burnley, and Brighton & Hove Albion, he was not even included in the squad.
And he has now been urged to have a frank conversation with Mourinho over his possible future plans, as he looks to discover whether he’ll have any chance of getting back into his starting XI.
Paul Robinson, the former Spurs goalkeeper, believes that he should speak with the Portuguese after Christmas, so he knows whether he should seek a January move.
Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “Alli will be given more chances because the window is not open until January. He has two months.
“It is hard to see where he fits in though. His lack of game time definitely does not bode well for him.
“Whether it is his attitude and application in training, the way he plays or maybe it is simply because they have an abundance of attacking talent.
“Not being picked for the Premier League squad and then being taken off at half time in the Europa League does not bode well. It does not bode well if you are Dele Alli or if you are playing in the fourth tier of English football.
“If he wants to get to the European Championships next summer he needs to have an honest and frank conversation with Jose Mourinho after Christmas.”
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
Robinson is absolutely right, here.
A move away from Spurs may well be the best option for Alli at this point, purely because he really needs a clean break.
Mourinho clearly doesn’t rate him highly enough to give him a proper shot, and he remains a saleable asset for the club.
Transfermarkt value him at £46.8m and one has to think that receiving any such fee could help strengthen the squad elsewhere.
Spurs are currently third in the Premier League and it’s fair to say they haven’t really missed Alli.
More than anything, that should be evidence that a move ought to be looked at by the Englishman.