Roy Keane has been proven right over his concern for Dele Alli back in 2018, with the playmaker seemingly on the way out of Tottenham this month.
The former Manchester United midfielder went on the record to discuss the midfielder’s potential, though he claimed Alli still had a lot of work to do to improve on his game.
Since then, the 25-year-old has struggled to win the favour of three new managers, following Mauricio Pochettino’s dismissal.
All three of those occasions appeared to provide fresh starts for the England international, who seems to have stagnated in his years at Spurs.
However, under Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte, Alli struggled to recapture the form he had after signing from MK Dons in 2015.
His number of starts and minutes have drastically decreased from 2017/18, where he played over 3,000 minutes.
That season is the same amount of minutes as he has had in the past two seasons-and-a-half, just highlighting the difficulties he has had since being knocked back.
It was something that Keane had noted back in 2018 when talking on ITV Sport.
Mauricio Pochettino had previously said he was one of the best 21-year-old’s in world football, to which Keane said: “Slight exaggeration I think. I think the kid’s still got a lot to do. Potential is there, but there’s plenty he can improve on.”
At the time, the playmaker had suffered a slight dip in form. Keane believed that it can happen to most young players, though there were concerns for his off-the-field actions.
He said: “[A dip in form] can happen to a lot of you players, but I just worry about that kid with what he’s doing off-the-field.
“I see he’s doing a lot of commercial stuff, I always think these kids should focus on what you’re doing on the football pitch.”
The next step in Alli's career could be a big one, but where the midfielder will end up remains to be seen.
