More than any other player, Dele Alli embodied Mauricio Pochettino’s thrilling Tottenham team – daring, fearless, relentless and with an edge – but he also came to be a symbol of the club’s decline.
Once a phenomenon, described by Pochettino as the best 21-year-old in the world, Dele’s star has fallen to the point where Spurs allowed him to join Everton on Monday night on an initial free transfer, despite the 25-year-old still having two-and-a-half years on his contract.
Everton will pay £10million if Dele plays 20 games and the deal could eventually be worth more than £30m, but the unusual package still underlines Tottenham’s desperation to offload a player who has failed to win over three consecutive head coaches in Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte.
It was a sad decline for a player who dazzled after joining Spurs from MK Dons in summer 2015, winning consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards and establishing himself as one of England’s great hopes.
His goal against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in January 2016 was a stunning feat of daring, improvisation and impudence, best capturing Dele’s street-footballer qualities.
He was particularly gifted at bursting into a pocket of space in the box and developed a habit of scoring big and often brilliant goals, notably his two back-post headers in the 2-0 win over Conte’s Chelsea in January 2017 and a gorgeous outside-of-the-boot lob against Arsenal in December 2018.
He was and is one of the Spurs fanbase’s favourite sons, and his long list of highlights in seven years at the club also include the assist for Lucas Moura’s winning goal in Amsterdam.
As his form began to tail off, there were concerns at Spurs over his lifestyle. Mourinho was particularly frustrated by his carry-ons and warned Dele not to finish his career with regrets in a one-on-one meeting which was captured by Amazon Prime’s documentary.
There was also a feeling within the club that Dele had lost the spark, focus and hunger that, according to Pochettino, made him the player he was.
The Argentine always said Dele needed a “naughty side” and “the devil on his shoulder” to perform at his best, and that edge drained away as he squandered a succession of chances to impress under Pochettino’s predecessors.
Dele became an unsettled influence in the Spurs squad, but while his decline has felt largely self-inflicted, there are also notable caveats.
He was always best as an advanced No10, up close to Harry Kane, but he has frequently been played out of position. Nuno tried to remould him as a tenacious box-to-box midfielder, while his final two appearances for Spurs where disappointing outings on the right wing and up-front under Conte.
By far his most encouraging display of the past year came in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool in December, when he was back in his preferred position and showed glimpses of his old self, with several darting runs into the box. That performance should offer Everton hope.
Dele also suffered with the departure of certain teammates as Pochettino’s side was dismantled.
A move to Everton is not be without fresh difficulties.
No-one at Spurs benefited more from the space afforded by Mousa Dembele’s bruising authority or from Christian Eriksen’s delivery, while Dele also had an impressive understanding with Toby Alderweireld.
A move to Everton is not be without fresh difficulties for Dele, who will have to compete with another new signing, Donny van de Beek, at a club in a relegation battle and seeking a completely new identity under Frank Lampard.
The new Toffees boss will be aware of Dele’s issues – the pair share representatives, as well as some striking similarities on the pitch – and clearly he believes he can get the best out of a player who has lost his way.
Mourinho once asked if he was coaching Dele or “Dele’s brother”, and the question for Lampard is whether he can rediscover the Dele who embodied Pochettino’s brilliant team or is stuck with the one who became a symbol of Tottenham’s fall.
