Tottenham Hotspur captain Hugo Lloris has revealed that he sensed it was inevitable that Dele Alli would leave the club.
Dele became the second arrival of Frank Lampard's tenure in charge of Everton, completing a permanent switch to Goodison Park from Tottenham late on transfer deadline day.
The 25-year-old followed Donny van de Beek as the first signings under the new boss, whose appointment was confirmed earlier on the same day.
Dele had made just 10 league appearances for Spurs this season, scoring one goal, and had struggled to find a place in Antonio Conte's regular line-up.
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However, he came off the bench for his Everton debut in the 3-1 defeat to Newcastle United on Tuesday night.
The England international then made his second Blues appearance when he replaced Dominic Calvert-Lewin during the second half of Saturday's 3-0 win over Leeds United.
And Lloris now expects Dele to start showing the footballing world precisely what he is capable of at Goodison.
“I really like Dele. We had some great times at Spurs, but also, it’s important that players find new challenges,” the Frenchman told The Times.
“Sometimes, the new challenge is not at the same place. Dele has to go to another place, but the most important thing is I want to see Dele with a smile.”
Lloris then continued: “I wanted Dele to enjoy football, and I know it was a bit complicated the last two years for him.
“A lot of inconsistency in terms of games played, but that’s part of the career. It’s never easier for anyone, even the best players in the world have some up and downs.”
