Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli won the London Young Player of the Year Award at the London Football Awards, beating two Arsenal stars in the process.
The England international saw off the competition from Gunners duo Alex Iwobi and Hector Bellerin, while also beating youngsters Ryan Sessegnon and Ademola Lookman to the honours.
Alli has emerged as one of the finest and the brightest young talents in England, after arriving at the White Hart Lane from MK Dons in the 2015-16 season. Having made his international debut with England in 2015, Alli scored his first goal for the Three Lions in his first game itself, against France at the Wembley.
The 20-year old has already netted a whopping 14 strikes across all competitions this season and has further assisted three more goals for his teammates. His excellent performances have seen him linked with summer transfer moves to some of the biggest clubs across Europe, with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona among the interested parties.
Earlier this season, Alli became the fastest midfielder to score twenty goals in the English top division, after having notched up 10 strikes in the previous season. And in the process, he beat several footballing legends, going past the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard and Alli’s idol Steven Gerrard, which is no mean feat by any standard.
The midfielder had drawn some flak in the last week, after he was sent off in the Lilywhites’ do or die Europa League encounter against Belgian outfit KAA Gent for a horrendous challenge on Brecht Dejaegere at the Wembley. Spurs were dumped out of the competition and Alli’s rash and aggressive approach was once again in limelight.
However, there is no questioning the fact that he is one of the finest young English players to burst onto the scene in recent times and is arguably the best English player in the league currently.
There were more reasons for the Tottenham faithful to celebrate as their goalkeeper Hugo Lloris picked up the London Goalkeeper of the Year Award. The Frenchman trumped the likes of Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois and West Ham United’s Darren Randolph to the accolade, with Alex Smithies of Queens Park Rangers and Jordan Archer of Millwall also being nominated.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was also decorated with the Best Manager honour for his work with the Blues this season, despite being in London for less than a year while the Blues’ legend Frank Lampard was also honoured post his retirement from the game.
But the fact that Alli won the award, beating two players from their most bitter rivals, Arsenal, would have given the Tottenham fans a lot of pleasure. And they will be hoping that their star attacker will continue his great run of form for years to come at the Lane.
