While Tottenham Hotspur managed to keep Dele Alli over the course of the last two transfer windows despite links with Paris Saint-Germain, that could soon change. 

Indeed, according to Football Insider, Spurs are unlikely to stand in the England international's way this summer should more interest emerge after a miserable campaign for him under Jose Mourinho. 

Price-tag and salary: 

Alli is believed to be earning £100k-per-week so the idea of him continuing to sit on the bench surely isn't palatable for those who are actually paying his wages. 

Given money is reportedly tight for Spurs this summer, trying to sell him in a few months in order to fund additions elsewhere in the team might be the most prudent idea financially. Indeed, the club are well-stocked in attacking berths with the likes of Lucas Moura, Erik Lamela, Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndomeble all able to operate as a No.10. 

Back in 2017, former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp suggested the former MK Dons youngster was worth around £100m though his stock has undoubtedly dropped since then. In December, Dean Jones suggested his fee would be around £50m at this stage and, while a marked drop, could still represent good business. 

Considering the financial situation at Tottenham at the moment, as well as the post-pandemic market clubs now have to navigate, a fee around that figure would be sizeable. 

Statistics

While it would be hard to suggest the 24-year-old has been given a fair crack of the whip this season considering he has amassed only 964 minutes of action across all competitions, his output had dropped even before best cast into the wilderness by Mourinho. 

During his last two full campaigns, he scored and assisted fewer times than he did during the 2017/18 season, while last year saw his averages for key passes, dribbles and passes per game drop (via WhoScored). 

Infamously called lazy by his manager during the All or Nothing documentary, Alli wasn't exactly pulling up trees before his exclusion from the side. 

Expert Opinion

Though is been a difficult year or so for the player, BT Sport's Owen Hargreaves did suggest there's still a talent there, after praising Alli for his performance against Ludogorets in the Europa League. 

"When he gets physical and gets into the game and gets angry, he plays with a chip on his shoulder," he said in November 2020 (via football.london).

"I'm happy for him, I think there's a special player in there and he's too good to not be playing football."

Perhaps, then, Tottenham still have a sellable asset capable of bringing in a relatively big fee.

The Verdict 

Spurs must make a decision on where exactly they want to go soon. 

With Mourinho's job reportedly on the line, a new boss may potentially want to bring Alli back into the side were they to replace the self-proclaimed 'Special One'. Still, with the managerial situation not yet clear, they have a highly-paid talent not contributing after already seeing the player's valuation drop significantly. 

Rather than seeing it decrease even further, the wiser move would surely be to try and work on his ext ahead of the summer and at least hope to extract as much as possible in the way of a fee to then use that money elsewhere. 

During what looks likely to be a difficult summer window, Alli could be Spurs' best way of banking big money.