Former Liverpool manager and Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness is of the opinion that Tottenham forward, Dele Alli has been stagnant as a footballer with his career comprised of injuries and loss of form.
The 23-year-old joined Tottenham in 2015 from MK Dons scoring 32 goals in his first two seasons but he has failed to replicate such in recent seasons, scoring just seven goals in all competitions last season and only one strike this season.
Souness had previously tipped him, to be Frank Lampard’s Premier League successor but Alli’s poor performances on the pitch have been disappointing.
‘Two years ago, I thought Dele Alli was going to be a superstar,’ he wrote in the Sunday Times.
‘A modern-day goalscoring midfielder from the same mould as Terry McDermott, my partner at Liverpool, or, more recently, Frank Lampard at Chelsea. Somebody who could be relied upon to get well into double figures in terms of goals every season for their club.
‘Instead, he’s stagnated. Why? Will he point to the hamstring injuries he’s had? Is he blaming the training at Tottenham or his teammates? He has to look at himself first, in the mirror in the morning when he’s shaving, and ask: “Why have I not progressed?”’
Comparing him to Harry Kane who has been consistent despite injury problems, Souness thinks Alli may have lost his drive to ba footballer.
‘He needs to ask why Harry Kane has kicked on and handled all the peripheral stuff that comes with being a top player, and he hasn’t.
‘Can he honestly say he’s been fully focused on his football or has he forgotten what made him kick a ball in the first place?
The Englishman has been left out of Gareth Southgate’s recent England squad, and Souness feels its an opportunity for Alli to find his feet again – noting his concern that too many young stars are distracted by the lucrative lifestyle.
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