Paul Brown reckons that Antonio Conte was simply being polite when he suggested that Dele Alli has a big role to play for Tottenham in the future.
Alli has made just one two-minute substitute appearance in the Italian's first two league games in charge and Brown didn't think that Conte's comments were genuine.
What did Conte say about Alli?
Despite Alli playing just two of a possible 180 minutes in the league since Conte's arrival, he spoke highly of the 25-year-old after his first game in charge at Everton earlier this month.
Read More - January Transfer Window 2022: When does it open, when does it close and which players are going to move?
It's been a stop-start campaign for Alli, who played every minute of the first five Premier League games but paid the price for his first-half performance at Arsenal when he was hooked at half-time.
Alli has made just two substitute appearances in the league since, adding up to 19 minutes, but Conte said that every Tottenham player deserves the chance to impress him and described Alli as someone with "great potential".
He told Sky Sports: "Dele is a player that has great potential. For sure I give him the possibility to show he has talent. I am open, I am open for every single player in Tottenham. The most important thing is they show me they deserve the chance to play."
Sancho SCREAMER seals it! Full reaction to Villarreal 0-2 Man Utd on The Football Terrace...
However, Brown reckons the Spurs boss was being considerate towards Alli rather than actually suggesting that he could actually become a key part of his team.
What did Brown say?
When asked whether he believes Conte's words about Alli, he told GIVEMESPORT: "Conte said that publicly himself, but frankly, I think he was being polite."
Does Alli have a future under Conte?
As Conte said, everyone is on a clean slate following his arrival, but based on what's happened previously, Alli is on borrowed time.
His revival during the early Jose Mourinho days aside, it's been more than three seasons since Alli was at his best, which coincides with the last time he played for England.
In Alli's last campaign of genuine note, he directly contributed to 31 goals in all competitions in 2017-18, but has been involved in just 41 in three-and-a-half seasons since, which epitomises his rapid decline.
Even though Conte has just arrived, the midfielder is running out of time to impress, especially with he January window around the corner.
Furthermore, Tottenham are going to need to sell players to provide funds for Conte to spend in January and Alli could easily be one of the first out the door, but Fabrizio Romano did say on Rio Ferdinand’s ‘FIVE’ podcast that sources have told him the Italian will give "big chances" to him.