The Premier League is never short of top talent, but the same cannot be said of the English players. Very few English players have captured the imagination of fans right from the start of their careers. Wayne Rooney could possibly be the last name to have achieved this status. Now, though, Dele Alli is on the verge of becoming the next England darling. It was not long ago that the 20-year-old was playing with Milton Keynes Dons in the lower reaches of English football.
Since the move to Tottenham, he has burst onto the scene and has never looked back. Dele Alli is now one of the sought-after players in European football, and it would not be surprising to see Tottenham command a world record transfer fee should a club like Manchester United or Real Madrid come in with a concrete offer. Former Premier League star and Sky Sports pundit Peter Beagrie reckons that Dele Alli is a player who is better – on current form – than Paul Pogba. He said:
“On current form it’s Alli every day of the week. There’s no doubt Pogba on his day is absolutely outstanding, but on current form and value to his team it’s got to be Dele Alli. As far as athletic ability goes, I look at the Spurs midfield and think it’s far and above more athletic. He told Sky Sports
“He’s terrific playing behind the striker, he’s got the mobility and football intelligence to run beyond the striker and can also drift into wide positions. He loses no opportunity to shoot at goal, and he’s got loads of self-belief.”
It is quite a praise for a player who is yet to feature in some of the biggest games in world football. Prior to his move to Manchester United for £93.2m, Paul Pogba had already featured in the Champions League final and won numerous league titles with Juventus. He may have been only 23 at the time of his transfer to United, but the Frenchman has certainly proved himself at the top level.
There is little doubt that Alli is an incredible talent. It takes a lot of talent and hard work for a player to receive 15 England caps at the age of 20. Alli has made incredible progress, but most of the interest surrounding the player has been based on his current form. He is yet to win a major honour and this could be one of the factors preventing Alli from becoming a recognised superstar.
Yet, those days do not seem far away given the progress made by Spurs in the last few years. After having been one of the rank outsiders for the top four places, the club are now in a position to be competing for the Champions League qualification quite regularly alongside the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool. A brand-new 60,000 seater stadium is in the works and could be completed in time for the 2018-19 season. This would give access to significantly higher commercial revenue, which can then be reinvested in the transfer market to bring in a different class of player, to the club.
