The mutual appreciation society between Frank Lampard and Dele Alli is long-standing it seems but now that they look set to team up, the new Everton manager could save the once high-flying England international’s career.
It’s easy to forget that Alli is still only 25 given how dramatically his progress has been derailed in recent seasons.
Back in 2018, the boffins at the famous CIES Football Observatory in Switzerland calculated that the Tottenham Hotspur star was the most expensive midfielder in the world based on his contemporary transfer value.
Fast forward to January 2022 and Everton could be landing him for next to nothing to start with on a structured, pay-as-you-play deal.
This won’t be one of your bog standard ‘free transfers’ as such – you wouldn’t expect Daniel Levy to dispense such gifts so freely but after fierce criticism of late for supposedly poor recruitment, it could still prove to be one of the Blues’ most astute bargains.
So what happened to a player who was considered one of English football’s most-polished gems in the not-too-distant past?
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Perhaps the notoriously corrosive influence of Jose Mourinho played its part during his time in charge of Spurs.
The Portuguese boss declared: “Dele is not a midfield player” and at first he would utilise him in an advanced role playing off Harry Kane that allowed him greater freedom.
But then he just dropped him and froze him out of the first team picture for prolonged periods in that kind of unyielding manner few others could replicate.
Whatever has gone wrong in recent seasons, Alli is in desperate need of a fresh start and that’s what Lampard is aiming to provide him with at Everton.
The Blues boss has been an admirer for a number of years now.
Back in 2017 ahead of Tottenham facing his former club Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final, Lampard told the BBC : “I've been watching Alli closely this season and he clearly has great technical ability - you can see that from his touch and from his finishing.
“The magic for me, though, is his movement to get into the box without being marked.
“If you watch him during games, he is always very aware of what is around him - his head is always moving and he is waiting for the right time to make his run.
“That intelligence is the special thing he has that sets him apart.
“Some of it is natural, but other parts of it you work on, which is why I think he will get better and better as he gets older.
“That was the case with me - I worked it out. I was never the quickest player, so I knew I had to get an edge somewhere else around the box.
“You only need a yard and I used to wait for people to either take their eye off me, or to switch off.
“Midfield players generally don't like running back and defending around the edge of the box so I always had the idea that, if I could get in and around there and make my move at the right time, then I would get my yard.
“With experience, it is something you get even better at. Alli has only just turned 21, so he can certainly do the same.
“We have already seen a big improvement from Alli this season, and part of that is down to him being higher up the pitch.
“He has developed into a number 10, playing behind the main striker, rather than being a number eight and a more traditional midfielder who likes getting forward.
“He is so clever with his movement and clinical with his finishing, so he had to be given that free rein.
“Alli is a highly intelligent player - the kind of number 10 we have been craving in England for years, and bemoaning the fact we have not got one. Now he has really arrived.”
Perhaps in many ways, Alli was Lampard’s natural heir in the England team but it hasn’t quite worked out.
Between Alli’s final year at MK Dons in 2014/15 and 2017/18, he struck double figures over four straight seasons but hasn’t repeated the feat since.
Lampard in contrast managed such numbers in no fewer than a dozen campaigns in English football, including 10 straight between 2003/04 and 2012/13.
If there’s anyone who can sort Alli out then it will be him.
Indeed the Everton manager was one of Alli’s boyhood heroes – even if Blues might cringe at hearing that he was vying with Kop Idol Steven Gerrard for the youngster’s affections.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph back in 2014, while still at MK Dons, Alli recalled: “Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are good role models with the way they act as professionals and players.
“Lampard’s got a lot of goals. Gerrard is still getting goals but also plays defensive.
“They always give 100%. You can see their winning attitude, even when things are not going their way, they work as hard as they can to win.
“You can see how devastated they are if they don’t win.
“Gerrard was a big reason I began supporting Liverpool. I liked Chelsea as well because of Lampard.”
When asked about his and his dad’s famous FA Cup goals against his new employers during their respective playing careers in his first interview as Everton manager, Lampard laughed and admitted that he’s got of making up to do.
Returning Alli to the top in a royal blue jersey and converting the former Red would be a great double bonus for him to start with in the eyes of the Goodison Park faithful.
