Tottenham’s charge for what could be Premier League glory isn’t just down to Harry Kane or Mauricio Pochettino, in fact the entire team deserves praise for making many Spurs fans dream of the chance of lifting some sort of silverware come the end of the season.
One player who has put in quite an incredible showing this season is the young Dele Alli. The 19-year-old was signed from MK Dons last season and remained at the lower league club till the start of this season and after making his debut against Manchester United in the first game of the season, he has become a regular feature in an impressive Tottenham line up.
No one in their right mind could have predicted the meteoric rise of a player who was playing League One football with the Dons but he did help them achieve promotion to the Championship at the end of the 2014-15 season.
His feats didn’t go unnoticed as he won the Young Player of the Year award at the Football League Awards. Tottenham might have known that they have signed a jewel but certainly they did not expect it to sparkle this much.
Dele Alli has played 30 games for Spurs this season and has bagged seven goals, not bad for someone who had never played in this league. He has however been the player that has been touted as the next big thing in the English setup; another slippery slope waits for the talented Englishman?
Keep the hype away and let him play
Dele Alli might be doing his bit to ensure he does not get carried away too far with all the coverage he has been getting in the past few weeks. His wonderful striker against Crystal Palace will go down as one of the goals of the season and the obvious comparisons to goal scoring midfielders such as Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard would have begun but the press and media have a habit of going overboard in their praise of young English talent who could help the team win the World Cup.
From Jermaine Pennant to Adam Johnson to David Bentley, time and time again we have seen just how the English media can hype a player up so much and the need to tone this down in this day and age is extremely important.
There are many avenues that see pictures posted and lengthy discussions going on about a player’s value and what he can bring to a team. Dele Alli isn’t any different and these kind of things should be kept closed for as long as possible.
Alli is still young and coming to terms with not only the Premier League but also his ability. He does have a good number of years to grow and hopefully fulfil his potential and not be burdened by the tag of being the next Gerrard or Iniesta. He needs to do his own thing and stamp his own authority rather than see his name depicted on tabloids and websites comparing his goal scoring record to anyone else’s.
This is just his first season in the league and unless many want him to slide down the slippery slope of football oblivion, they should let him be. Dele Alli though has shown that things aren’t getting in his head, unlike a certain Jack Grealish at Aston Villa. We all have seen many talented players get washed away with the hype and maybe it is time to dial down the madness and nurture talent rather than putting them out for the whole world as the greatest thing to have hit the Premier League in years.
